A Crown of Bleeding Hearts
by Snowthistle
Summary: Sir Karkat of the Crab Blade and a huntress named Nepeta Leijon have been selected by Her Empirical Effervescence to go on a mission in the southern area of the kindgom. Karkat cannot deal with Nepeta's personality and playful antics, and the two are at odds. Although, Karkat finds that Nepeta isn't as bad as he thinks she is and is willing to give her a chance,
1. We Are Not Going to Get Along

Chapter 1: We Are Not Going to Get Along

A bird sits upon a branch in the morning light, and another bird alights next to it. The first bird acts aggressively towards the second bird, and the second bird reciprocates the action. A third bird joins the first two birds and attempts to call the first bird with a mating song. The first bird listens to the third bird's song, and the second bird cocks its head in curiosity. Just as the first bird seems to be going for the third bird, the second bird beckons it with its own mating song. The first bird listens to both songs and seems pleased with both, but it decides to fly off with the second bird instead of the third.

Fuchsia eyes turn their gaze from watching the three birds outside as wooden doors slowly open to reveal two trolls. Her Empirical Effervescence- her true name being Feferi Peixes- smiles amicably at the two trolls entering her throne room. The two stop to give a respective bow and curtsy in greeting, and she rises from the throne. She is clad in shades of pinks as usual and adorned with ornate jewelry and a dazzling crown graces her head. One troll is one of her knights- he is a mutantblood- and has a crabby temper, and the other is a huntress-she is an oliveblood- and has an affinity for cats. She believes she has made a good choice in choosing these two for an important mission in the southern area of the kingdom.

"Good morning, Your Empirical Effervescence," the knight greets her before glancing at the young lady beside him.

"You wished to speak with me?" the huntress asks.

"Good morning to the both of you, Sir Karkat of the Crab Blade and Miss Nepeta Leijon. I am pleased to see you both here today. I have an important mission for both of you to go on in the southern area of the kingdom. I have been informed that there has been a disturbance there, but I have not been supplied with specific details about what precisely is occurring there," Her Empirical Effervescence explains.

"I understand, Your Empirical Effervescence, we will work together to accomplish the task you have assigned us" Karkat bows with respect before exiting the throne room, and Nepeta follows behind him.

oOoOoOo

"I'm coming in," Karkat knocked on the door as he announced his entrance.

"I'm not decent," Nepeta casually replied as she packed a change of clothes into her rucksack.

He glared at her," You think you're so amusing, Miss Leijon?"

"No, I don't think purrticularly amewsing to anyone really," she giggled.

"What's with the stupid cat puns?"

"I like using cat puns because they're fun to use, and I love cats!"

"You certainly are strange," he muttered.

"Have you always been so petulant?"

"Have you always been so vexatious?"

She turned her head to him and stuck out her tongue.

"Put your tongue back into your mouth where it belongs. You're not a wriggler."

She continued packing for their mission, and he quietly watched her from the opposite end of the room. Once she was finished, she slipped on her rucksack and clasped a belt with a smaller compartment around her waist. Karkat walked out of the room to finish up loading the saddlebags on the horses, and Nepeta followed behind to do the same. The sun slowly rose into the sky as the two trolls packed the saddlebags and double-checked to make sure they had what they needed. Finally, they mounted their respective horses and set off on the dirt path leading to the forest they would need to travel through in order to head to the southern area of the kingdom. Nepeta looked into the sky as she rode alongside Karkat. She was sure that there would be rain in a few days since there had not been rain for awhile, but she hoped the rain would not cause any hazards that would interfere with their mission.

A mossy carpet covered the forest floor and tree trunks, mushrooms sprouted up in clumps near the bases of trees, and woodland creatures chattered in the trees. Nearby, a fox sprung from the bushes chasing a rabbit across the forest path and out of sight. Karkat grumbled something about stupid forest creatures getting in their way of travel, and Nepeta gently elbowed him. Their ride was silent for the most part, but soon Nepeta was itching to start a conversation with Karkat. She debated on waiting for lunch to start a conversation with him or speaking with him presently. He seemed to be an irascible guy with a short temper, but she believed that she would be able to get him to lighten up a bit. It surprised her, however, when he spoke first.

"What precisely is your occupation, Miss Leijon?"

"I am a huntress, and I have a side-job as an assassin."

"A side-job as an assassin? I didn't think Her Empirical Effervescence would be one to approve of assassins or even hire one."

"She's actually not my boss and, while she doesn't condone my actions, she allows me to do so if need be. She is the one who approves of the subject being assassinated. My real boss prefurs to remain anonymous, so I haven't actually met him befur."

"That's strange. Are you sure you can trust such a secretive person like that?"

Nepeta looked at the ground," I've thought about quitting, but I'm afraid he'll kill me. He's sent word to me telling me that I'm his top assassin, so I'm not sure what would happen if I told him I wanted to quit."

"I'm sorry you have to deal with that. By the way, should we stop for lunch?"

He was greeted with silence and turned his head to find that Nepeta was gone, but her horse still walked beside his.

"Miss Leijon, where did you go?"

He looked around slightly panicked, and his heart began to race as he searched for her whereabouts. He was abruptly knocked off of his horse and let out a curse as he crashed to the ground. A grin plastered the mischievous face of Nepeta as she pinned Karkat to the forest floor, and he could feel his face turning red with anger.

"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU, LEIJON? ARE YOU PARTIALLY INSANE? I WAS ABOUT TO PANIC BECAUSE YOU DISAPPEARED WITHOUT A TRACE! DO YOU MAKE A HOBBY OUT OF GIVING TROLLS NEAR HEART ATTACKS?" he yelled at her.

She rolled off to the side laughing," You should have seen your face! You looked like a cornered rabbit with nowhere to go!"

He let out an exasperated sigh and dragged his hands down his face," Do you want to stop for lunch, or should we keep going?

"I would love to stop fur lunch!"

"Good. I need to take a break and wait until my heart stops running a marathon before I continue traveling."

Nepeta darted forward without warning and pressed her ear against his chest. Karkat thought his heart skipped a beat as she startled him with her quick movement. Nepeta listened to Karkat's heart racing inside his chest, and it was indeed beating rapidly.

"Your heart is beating fast, but I'm pretty sure you'll be alright once it settles down from the scare I give you," she announced before lightly bopping him on the nose with her index finger.

He rolled his eyes as Nepeta helped him to stand, and she began taking out food from one of the saddlebags. She was going to be difficult to tolerate, but he would be able manage traveling with her. After this was all over, they would both go their separate ways. He would resume his duties as a knight, and she would return to being a huntress with her side-job as an assassin. They would not see each other again or utter another word except maybe in passing one another in the hallway. Otherwise, his contact with her would most likely be limited due to their different jobs. He sat on a rock and ate some grapes while Nepeta leaned against the trunk of a tree eating some cheese. A lizard scuttled over to him and stared at him with its reptilian eyes.

"What do you want?" he asked as he placed a grape in his mouth.

The lizard continued to stare at him and flicked out its tongue. Karkat held a grape between his index and thumb fingers and offered it to the lizard. It flicked its tongue at the grape and tried to fit its mouth around it, and the corners of Karkat's mouth slowly eased into a smile. He tore the grape into smaller pieces and offered them to the lizard once more, and the lizard was able to eat the pieces with ease. Nepeta watched with curiosity as she placed a piece of bread in her mouth. The lizard seemed interested in climbing Karkat and proceeded to scale his leg, but Karkat made no movements as the reptile did what it pleased. It flicked its tongue out more times than he could count and climbed up his chest to rest on his shoulder. He let out a soft laugh as it flicked his tongue at his cheek and squirmed when he felt its tongue touch his ear.

Nepeta watched in slight awe as she ate her lunch; he was actually smiling. Granted, it was a lizard being a little silly, but Karkat seemed to be enjoying the lizard's company. Nepeta smiled a little and felt a little jealous that a lizard was making more progress in getting Karkat to smile than she was. She did not mind because it was merely a reptile being curious around a troll, and it was not harming him in any way. It was the fact that Karkat did not look even the slightest bit angry, and it was all due to a lizard in the forest. She began packing up the food and glanced up at the clouds rolling lazily across the sky. Karkat took the lizard and gently placed it on the ground, and it finally skittered off into the bushes. He assisted Nepeta with putting the rest of the food away and mounted his horse. The two trolls set off into the forest once more to cover more ground before nightfall.

Occasionally, the two would chat with each other about little details in their lives or recall stories of previous experiences they had. Slowly, the sun began to sink towards the horizon, so Karkat and Nepeta decided that it was best for them to stop and rest for the night. Nepeta took out a tarp from a saddlebag and began to unfold it, and Karkat found long branches that were sturdy enough to hold up the tarp. He slipped the branches through the rings in the tarp and dug the opposite ends of the branches into the ground. Nepeta made sure to tether the horses securely, so they would not wander off during the night. The golden and rosy hues of the sky gradually changed to blue and purple and finally to black spattered with twinkling stars partially covered by clouds. Nepeta sat on a rock and quietly gazed at the numerous lights sparkling in the sky in place of the moon, which was absent from the naked eye this night. Karkat watched as fireflies flickered on and off in the tall grass nearby then lay down on the ground and pulled his cloak over him.

"Miss Leijon, you really should be going to sleep now," he called over to Nepeta.

She yawned," I'm not tired yet. Besides, why don't you call me Nepeta?

"That yawn tells me otherwise. Also, fine, I will start addressing you as Nepeta. Now get over here and go to sleep."

She sprung up from the rock and crawled underneath the tarp to lay down a few feet away from him.

"Maybe we should sleep together for protection just in case something bad happens," she suggested playfully.

"No, we are not sleeping together. I do not need you cuddling up to me like I'm your lusus or something," he snapped and rolled over facing away from her.

She pulled her cloak over her," I was just joking silly."

Night progressed peacefully into morning as the sky turned from star-spangled black into a misty gray morning. Clouds covered the sky thickly, so there was promise of rain later in the day. Birds chirped in the trees to greet the morning, and a woodpecker rapped its beak against the trunk of a tree for its breakfast. Karkat ended up rolling all the way to Nepeta's side during the night and had his arm wrapped around her abdomen. Nepeta opened her eyes and looked down to see what was wrapped around her middle. _I do not need you cuddling up to me like I'm your lusus or something_. She thought back to what Karkat said the night before with a smile tugging at her lips. Said troll began to shift behind her and opened his crimson eyes to see Nepeta's magenta clad back. He jerked away from her and rolled to the opposite side of the tarp.

Nepeta stretched in a catlike way," Good morning, Sir Karkat of the Crab Blade, did you sleep well last night?"

"Shut up, Nepeta," he muttered.

"I was merely asking if you slept well."

"Fine, I slept well."

"Hee hee I thought you specifically told me that you did not want me to cuddle up to you like you were my lusus."

"I do _not _need your sass so early in the morning, Nepeta."

Nepeta stood up and grabbed the saddlebag stored with food, and Karkat sat up under the tarp. She brought the saddlebag over and sat with him, and he waited patiently for her to open it. He took his share of food while she grabbed hers, and they ate breakfast together. Once they finished eating, they cleaned up and mounted their horses to continue their mission. It was slightly chillier today and a light breeze blew through the forest; it would definitely be raining sometime today. Gradually, the temperature dropped a little more, and Nepeta shivered slightly as she drew her cloak around her more. A raindrop landed squarely on her nose and she shook her head and sneezed, which elicited a chuckle from Karkat. She turned to him with a smile-she actually educed a chuckle from the ever so choleric knight- but he continued to face forward at the path directly in front of him. Rain drops continued to drop steadily from the sky, and the trolls paid no mind to them. Although, thunder began to rumble nearby, and they decided to look for somewhere safe to take out in the rain was fine, but thunder meant lightning, and it would be hazardous to stay near so many tall trees during a thunderstorm. Karkat noticed a cave up ahead and dismounted from his horse to see whether there were any residents inside. Nepeta held onto the reins of his horse while she watched him disappear into the cave. He emerged from the inside and began to lead his horse inside while silently beckoning with his hand for Nepeta to follow. She dismounted and proceeded to follow him inside. Karkat sat on a slab of rock sitting a few feet inside the cave and worked on squeezing as much water as possible from his cloak, and Nepeta sat beside him doing the same with her cloak. She shivered and drew her cloak around herself, but she found it to be uncomfortable since it was still damp like the rest of her clothes. Karkat brought an arm around her as well as his cloak and held her close to him, and Nepeta tensed up at the unexpected gesture; it didn't help that the chain mail he wore felt cold against her skin. She mentally cursed herself for not wearing something with sleeves and pressed up against Karkat for more warmth.

"You probably should have thought about what weather we could be having and worn something with sleeves," he commented on her shivering.

"Shut up, Vantas," she muttered through gritted teeth.

""Oh? Dropping the formalities, Nepeta?"

He was thoroughly enjoying this; she wanted to smack him for being so smug.

"I didn't think this through okay? Yes, I'm dropping the formalities. Do you have a purroblem with that?" she hissed softly.

He smirked and rubbed her arms to warm her up more," Looks like I'm not the crabby one today am I?"

She let out a soft whine and gently head butted him with her horn, and he patted her back and continued trying to warm her up. By now the rain was pouring in torrents outside of the cave, and the wind howled fiercely as the two trolls huddled together for warmth. Nepeta let out another sneeze and gave a little squeak as she did so. Karkat hoped she wasn't catching a cold; they both needed to be well for this journey. He took off his cloak and wrapped up Nepeta tightly with it and sat her in his lap to keep rubbing her arms and back. She let out soft purrs as he warmed her up, and he soon felt embarrassed to be warming her up like this. He didn't want her to catch a cold, so it was either that or keep her warm.

Night was falling again, and the rain had lightened up. Karkat and Nepeta dozed off together during mid-afternoon after eating lunch. Nepeta shifted in Karkat's lap and woke up, and Karkat opened his eyes as well. She sighed as she observed the falling rain, but at least she wasn't feeling so cold anymore. Karkat had warmed her up well, so she would be able to continue traveling once the rain stopped- if it stopped. She stood up and wriggled off Karkat's cloak to stretch her limbs out. Karkat yawned and stretched out his limbs as well before standing up.

"Feeling better now?" he asked.

She nodded," Yes, thank you for keeping me warm."

"It was nothing. I just didn't want you catching a cold and delaying our mission."

She grinned," Oh really? I'm purretty sure you enjoyed putting your arms around me and keeping me warm."

"Well, I have to say that your presumptions are incorrect, Miss Leijon. I just don't want you getting sick and making us spend more time with each other than needed."

"Did you hear that you two?" she addressed the horses standing at the opposite end of the cave," He wants to spend more time with me, but he's clearly being in denial right now."

"What did I just get through saying? I have _no_ interest in being with you any longer than I have to!"

"Fine, I wasn't planning on staying with someone as cantankerous as you anyways."

"Purrfect! I hope I never have to see you again for any prolonged period of time after this! See? I even used a cat pun to prove my sincerity on the matter!"

Nepeta stepped closer to the horses and spoke in a low whisper," I think he just declared his undying love for me in subtle tones."

Karkat was glaring daggers at the oliveblooded troll and could feel his face turning red from anger. He didn't know how to deal with such an infuriating girl, and he didn't understand why Her Empirical Effervescence had chosen Nepeta to pair up with him for this mission. Why did she have to have such sassy comebacks? Why did she have to be so undeniably cheerful? On top of all that, why did she have to look so…so…_cute_? It was like she was here just to annoy him to no end while looking sickeningly sweet, and he hated it. He hated her, yet he didn't hate her because she didn't do anything that would legitimately make him hate her. Everything was infuriating and frustrating, and he felt like his heart would implode from the stress of it all. He needed a break from this girl already, and it hadn't even been a week. With an exasperated sigh, he sat down. Maybe he was being too hard in judging her right away. He only knew her for about two days, and that wasn't much to judge from. Besides, she did say that she was scared that her boss-whoever he was- would kill her if she were to quit her side-job as an assassin. Surely there was more to this girl than her sass and cute looks. He smacked his head and dragged his hands down his face. _No, Karkat, she is not cute. She is the polar opposite of cute. She's not ugly, but she certainly isn't cute. Well, she's not exactly "sexy" either, but she's not cute. No, stupid, that's like saying a hamster isn't cute when it clearly is. Stop thinking about her cuteness._ He argued mentally with himself while making the most bizarre positions on the slab of rock.

"SHE IS NOT CUTE!" he shouted at the top of his lungs which startled the horses and echoed throughout the cave.

Nepeta flinched at the sudden outburst , but she directed her attention to calming down the startled horses and giving them gentle pats. Karkat froze as he realized how loud he yelled and the fact that he said that out loud, and he slowly turned his head to see what Nepeta was doing. _Well that went well stupid_. He mentally chastised himself while standing up and walking over to ameliorate his mistake of startling the horses. Nepeta gave him a concerned look but said nothing, and he diverted his gaze to the horses. Until the rain stopped, he would have to sit in this cave with Nepeta and tolerate her presence. Plus, there was no use in getting into arguments with each other while they were on this mission. They would both have to settle their differences and deal with the other's presence until they completed their task. He still had his doubts, however, that they were certainly not going to get along.


	2. Bandits and Bathing

**Warning: Blood, violence, and some graphic descriptions.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Bandits and Bathing

Rainwater slowly dripped off tree branches and plummeted gracefully to the mossy forest floor. The scent of petrichor lingered in the air as the knight and huntress traveled through the forest. A light mist surrounded the forest and gave off an eerie atmosphere in the gray morning light. Nepeta let out a huge yawn and shook her head; sleeping on cold, hard rock was not exactly comfortable. It was pretty dreary this morning and, on a normal day, it would be best to stay inside and take a nap. Karkat seemed slightly tense this morning, and Nepeta stared at him inquisitively with her head tilted in slight confusion. A squirrel chattered loudly, which caused Karkat to jump and nearly fell sideways onto Nepeta. She gently caught him with her arm and eased him back onto the saddle, but Karkat appeared to be shaken up. He looked at her seemingly confused as to why she was there, but he shook it off and rode on ahead. She wondered if he'd had any nightmares last night and if that's what was making him so tense. Although, she had the feeling that it was something else that was bothering him because she started feeling slightly paranoid. She whipped her head around to see if they were being followed, but there was nothing but forest greenery stretching on behind. A sigh escaped her lips as she faced forward once more and followed after Karkat before he rode out of sight. Nepeta's horse reared up as a blade embedded itself in the ground with a dull thud.

"Bandits," Karkat murmured.

Nepeta's ears twitched as a twig snapped behind her, and Karkat told her to follow him. They didn't have time to be sidetracked by bandits. Of course they weren't in a hurry to get to the southern area of the kingdom, but it would be wise to arrive as quickly as possible. For now, the two trolls were preoccupied with getting their horses and supplies to safety. Raucous laughter and devilish snickering sounded from all sides as Karkat and Nepeta raced through the forest with their horses at a gallop. After a series of twists and turns through the forest, Karkat found a place where he hoped the horses would not be found and dismounted with Nepeta. He returned to the standard forest path with Nepeta and surveyed the area for any bandits. Everything was eerily silent aside from the occasional birdsong and chatter of some forest rodent. Karkat armed himself with his sickle and readied himself for any surprise attacks. Nepeta drew her bow and scanned the area for any approaching adversaries; she took a deep breath to keep herself calm. Two hulking brutes covered with scars appeared from behind a few trees along with a few other trolls of various different body types also covered in scars.

"Well if it ain't one of the Empress' prissy knights," came the voice of a average-sized bandit with an x-shaped scar criss-crossing his left eye.

He was a head taller than Karkat and had razor sharp teeth and another scar across the bridge of his nose. A gold earring pierced the upper cartilage of his ear as well as a stud, and his clothes revealed him to be a blueblood. Nepeta narrowed her eyes into a glare as she kept her bow drawn, and Karkat scowled at the blueblood. Karkat hated how cocky this bandit appeared and was looking forward to killing him as swiftly as possible. The troll approached Karkat with an arrogant grin, and Karkat held his ground as he approached.

"No need to get your chain mail into a twist, Sir Knight, I merely wish to chat with you about your supplies," he greeted calmly.

"We are not discussing the matter of our supplies," Karkat hissed back.

"The request is simple: Give me your supplies and we shall be on our way. Refuse to comply: I'll take that sweet kitten right here as a prize along with all of your supplies," he bared his teeth with a menacing grin.

Nepeta let out a growl," I'm not a _prize _to be won, and you're not getting away with anything."

"Why you're a feisty one," he stepped over to Nepeta and held her chin with his thumb and index finger," You'll be quite an interesting catch dear pet."

Nepeta removed her chin from his fingers and bit down hard, drawing blood and feeling the satisfying _crunch_ of splintering bone beneath her teeth. The blueblood let out a cry of pain and drew back his bloodied, broken index finger, and Nepeta gave a smug look as his blue blood dribbled down her chin. Karkat inwardly cringed at the sight, but he kept a straight face while smiling with satisfaction; perhaps they would get along after all. The blueblood, however, merely grinned at Nepeta and slowly flexed his injured digit. She shrank back a little as he got into her personal space, but he rammed his lips into hers and pressed her body against his. Her first thought was of anger at him for stealing her first kiss-one that she'd been saving for someone special but the point was moot now- and her second was of disgust with him for touching her in such an intimate way without her consent. The disgusting blueblood had the audacity to move his hands to her hips and massage circles with his uninjured fingers, and Nepeta hated every moment of it as she struggled to push him away. Karkat on the other hand looked on in shock while the blueblood directed his gaze towards him as he kissed Nepeta. He then came to the infuriating realization that the blueblood was _mocking _him. It was as if he was saying: _I can take her, and you can't do anything about it mutantblood. Now I'm going to make you watch as I take control of her, and you're going to be forced to watch._ His name was Karkat Vantas, and he was going to have a conniption.

He didn't realize that such power could come from his fist, but the fact that it also left a mark as it came into contact with the scumbag of a blueblood gave an extreme sense of satisfaction. The fact that his punch sent the bandit into a tree was even more satisfying as he watched the scarred troll that violated Nepeta's personal space slowly standing up. Adrenaline coursed through his body as he felt pumped up and ready to fight this guy, but he needed to make sure not to be over-confident in case he failed. The blueblood unsheathed his blade from his scabbard and ran towards Karkat with his weapon drawn, and Karkat quickly defended himself with his sickle. Nepeta dispatched two of the scrawnier bandits with arrows, and they fell over dead. She wasn't confident that she'd be able to do the same with the larger brutes, for they looked even larger than her moirail whom she was able to handle sparring against back home. One of the scarred giants hit her with a blow that sent her flying into a tree with a loud yelp, but she recovered quickly and employed her claws. She would have to be as careful as possible in order not to get badly injured. She sprinted towards the bandit and leapt into the air while swiping at his face and drawing teal blood. He hissed in pain and swung out an arm to strike her once again, but she gracefully danced out of harm's way and leapt up to tear her claws into his sockets. He let out an anguished yell and bumbled into his fellow cohort, causing them both to crash to the ground. Nepeta hopped onto the one she'd blinded and stabbed an arrow through the back of his neck and made sure she'd finished him off. She quickly dispatched the second brute, so he would not have a chance to attack her. Glancing over, she saw that Karkat had sustained several cuts and gashes from the blueblood, but he was handling himself pretty well. The other two average sized bandits came into the clearing riding Karkat's and Nepeta's horses. Nepeta sprinted after the two bandits to catch them, but she halted as the horses bucked off their unfamiliar charges and turned to bring their hooves crashing down onto their ribcages. She flinched at the horses' behavior, but she ran over to calm them down. The two trolls heaved themselves onto their feet and stumbled away and out of sight, but Nepeta paid them no mind and focused on steadying the horses. A loud squelching noise sounded through the air, and Nepeta turned around slowly, fearing the worst. Karkat lay on the ground pinned by the blueblood, but his sickle wound up embedded in the bandit leader's stomach. He closed his eyes and panted for a few moments before shoving off the body and yanking his weapon from the bandit's abdomen.

"Are you alright, Nepeta?" he asked, exhausted.

"Yes, I'm fine, Karkat."

He sighed," Come on…Let's get out of here."

He took a step forward and swayed to the side, and Nepeta rushed over to catch him by the arm. She led him over to his horse and assisted him in mounting before mounting her own horse and keeping a hand on Karkat's back to steady him. For awhile, the two rode in silence as they searched for a river to wash off the blood and care for wounds. It was around noontime at the moment, so they would be able to rest and eat a little bit once they finished tending to everything. Nepeta had not sustained many injuries aside from some cuts and bruises and especially the huge bruise she knew would form on her back soon. Their mission was starting off _so well_ . The first two days had included arguing with each other and sassy comebacks, and today they had been attacked by bandits. She sighed and glanced over to Karkat again. He looked really tired, and it wouldn't surprise her if he took a nap for a few hours. He deserved some rest after all after what they'd just gone though. The sound of running water reached Nepeta's ears, and she rode her horse in the direction that it came from. She dismounted from her horse as a river came into view and helped Karkat dismount from his. He groaned softly and leaned against her for support.

"Shh I've got you," she murmured gently as she brought him near to the edge of the river and eased him down.

He inhaled sharply and winced in pain, and Nepeta began to slide off his tunic and remove his chain mail. She stood up and grabbed a first aid kit, bar of soap, and a small towel before returning to Karkat. Karkat was now sitting in his trousers and waited patiently for further instructions from Nepeta on what to do. She sat down and began undressing right next to him.

His eyes widened at the realization of what she was doing," Whoa, what are you doing?"

She slipped her sleeveless tunic over her head," I'm undressing silly!"

Blush rose to his cheeks," Why are you undressing?"

She slid off the shorts she wore underneath and her leggings and boots," I'm going to take a bath, and you are too."

His face turned red," I am _not _taking a bath with you, Nepeta."

She finally moved her hands to her bra clasp, and Karkat turned away," I know that. I'm going to bathe furrst, and you're going to take a bath after me."

He exhaled," I don't have to take a bath."

She leaned in close to his ear," I don't know when the next time we will be able to bathe normally, but I'm certainly not allowing you or myself to smell absolutely filthy the next time we meet someone."

"Well, we could always frighten off other people with our stench."

She rested her chin on his shoulder," I don't think so."

He tensed at how close she was and relaxed a little when he heard her splash into the river. Of course, he would dare not stare at her while she washed, but he couldn't help sneaking a few peeks every now and then. She kept her back turned to him, so he only ever saw her back. Her back wasn't completely gray anymore as the bruise from being thrown into a tree slowly formed. It probably wouldn't be as obvious until the next day, and she was going to be in pain or at least very sore from it. Despite their current standings with tolerating each other, he really believed that she did not deserve being kissed like that or thrown against a tree. In fact, he wished this whole incident had never happened, but at least they both escaped from it alive. Water splashed behind him as Nepeta climbed out of the river and grabbed her rucksack to change into the other pair of clothes she packed.

"I left the bar of soap for you to use on that rock next to you."

He nodded and grabbed the bar of soap," Thank you."

Nepeta disappeared behind some bushes for a little bit in order to dry off and change into her clean clothes while Karkat began bathing in the river. It was relaxing to feel the cool water against his injuries, but it was freezing at the same time due to the cloudy weather. He worked up a lather and gently cleaned himself where it hurt the most but firmly scrubbed where he was uninjured. Once he finished, he pulled himself out of the water and winced a few times as he did so. Nepeta brought him a towel and helped dry him off, and she turned away as he put on fresh clothes. Maybe it was a bit silly in trying not to take a bath, and he realized it wasn't just to be clean in general but to clean up his cuts and gashes. He sat down before putting on his shirt, and Nepeta began to disinfect and bandage his wounds. Her hands moved carefully and gently as she addressed each cut with care. Olive eyes quietly scanned over a well-muscled torso and defined abdomen muscles; she couldn't help but blush at the sight. Faint traces of past scars lightly marked the gray skin and some were darker than others. Another thing to note was Karkat's natural scent, and Nepeta didn't know how to describe it. Whatever it was, she enjoyed inhaling traces of that scent as her hands carefully worked on tending to his wounds. Mild guilt seeped into her mind as she allowed her fingers to linger longer than they should after firmly attaching the bandages, and she felt herself dreading to pull her hands away from him. Karkat uttered a 'thank you' and slipped on his shirt and tunic without bothering the put on his chain mail and vambraces. Doing so would probably cause him more physical pain than he was already in, so he decided against it anyways. Nepeta helped him to stand up, and they found a place nearby where they could rest for a few hours. Karkat lay down on the ground with Nepeta's assistance and pulled his cloak over him. He was not in the mood for eating at the moment and would rather rest and forget about his cuts and bruises for a few hours and closed his eyes. Nepeta had the same idea as she lay down a few feet away from him and drifted off to sleep. Clouds still hung low in the sky, so it was easy to fall asleep since the light of the sun did not shine through as brightly.

oOoOoOo

He had no idea where he was, but he assumed he was dreaming. A sharp cackling broke through the silence and heat blasted into his face. Strange, that cackling sounded familiar. Where was Nepeta though? He supposed that she wouldn't be in his dream unless by means of magic or something along those lines. The lizard he encountered a few days ago appeared in front of him. He bent down to its level and stared at it with curiosity as it flicked its tongue out. The lizard began to run away from him, but it stopped a few feet away and turned back to him. Karkat stood up and began to follow the lizard and as he followed it, the cackling increased in volume. He knew this cackling was from someone he knew, but he couldn't piece together the cackle with a person. A strange mint or bright aqua colored emblem appeared in front of him in the distance. It was a circular emblem with three ghostly tendrils or arms branching out gracefully. This emblem seemed to be familiar in some sort of way, but it soon disappeared into a shape resembling scales. Giant claws came from above and below and rushed together to squash him, and he freaked out and tried to keep from getting crushed between them, but the weight of the upper set of claws was too much for him to handle. He fell flat onto his face and screamed out in pain as the claws crushed him in the darkness.

Crimson eyes shot open and were met with cloudy darkness and wind. Karkat sat up quickly, which proved to be a stupid idea because he was sore. A soft whimper was heard beside him and he turned his head to see Nepeta slowly trying to sit up, but she was having problems due to the pain in her back from her huge bruise. He shushed her gently and eased her up into a sitting position by her arms, and she tensed up her shoulders from the pain. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for her back to stop throbbing in pain, but she realized that it would take awhile for it to stop being so sore. Karkat sighed and walked over to the saddlebags to grab food for them to eat. He handed Nepeta the last apple that was in the bag, and she took it gratefully and started eating it. Something came to mind as he ate some bread and watched Nepeta. She seemed to be somewhat of a child in his eyes in the way she acted around him. Her sassiness combined with her height, short hair, and overall personality seemed to be childish. Sure she could handle herself in combat, but she still seemed a bit naïve and carefree outside of that. Right now, he felt the need to protect and shield her from any harm or hold her hand and fight off her fears. She wasn't more than a mere few inches shorter than him, but the feeling still remained in his heart.

Once they were finished eating, they both mounted their horses and set off to cover more ground before night fell. Nepeta could not help but glance over to Karkat every once in awhile. She took in his appearance: his messy hair, his eyes the color of his candy red blood, his angular features, and his perpetual frown. Heat rose to her cheeks, and she would quickly look away before he noticed. At first, she had a difficult time traveling with him because of how crabby he was, but she found herself to be more at ease with him. Maybe they would learn to get along more along the way on their mission and bond a little. If they bonded a bit more, then they would probably have no problem visiting each other from time to time after the mission was over. Her spirits lifted at this realization, and she hoped they would end up as close friends after everything was over. Raindrops fell onto her head, and she looked into the sky as more began to fall. They would have to find shelter again if they wanted to avoid getting soaked, and she blushed more at the thought of him hugging her close to keep her warm. She smacked herself in frustration because they weren't even friends yet, and she was already having these intimate thoughts about him. Karkat looked over to her with concern and a mildly confused expression, but she smiled at him before he turned away. _Way to be a dork, Nepeta_. She mentally chided herself and hunched her shoulders slightly, which made her back throb a bit more.

Karkat found another cave and went to explore it to make sure that everything was safe inside, and he came out motioning for Nepeta to come inside with the horses. He stood in the center of the cave wondering how they were going to get to sleep on the hard cave floor since they were going to be in pain if they moved. Nepeta suggested putting down the tarp and folding it a few times, so the tarp would create a few layers to sleep on. Karkat nodded and said it was a good idea, but Nepeta mentioned that they would probably have to sleep close to each other. He contemplated the situation for a few moments and decided it would be fine for them to sleep together. It was not like anything was going to happen between them, and he had already slept close to her the first night they spent together on this mission. Nepeta blushed slightly at the memory while she pulled the tarp out of the saddlebag and unfolded it enough to fit the both of them and placed it on the floor of the cave. Karkat lay down slowly and pulled his cloak over him, and Nepeta did the same, wincing. Karkat closed his eyes calmly and drifted off to sleep, but Nepeta had a harder time due to the pain in her back. Rain fell steadily outside of the cave and there was no wind howling through the forest. Everything seemed to be more peaceful tonight.

Ah yes, the knight and the huntress were peacefully sleeping together in the cave. Black lips curved into a Cheshire cat grin and revealed razor sharp teeth which glinted in the light from her crystal ball. Soon they would be traveling her way, and she would be able to see them again. Although, the term ''see" was quite interesting for her case. It had been a long time since she had seen either the knight or the huntress, and it would be exciting to visit with them again. Her task was to accompany the two on their mission and assist them in finding the cause of the disturbance in the south. What an interesting reunion that was going to be, but she would not relay any details of what they would find there. Another thing she received information from had been withheld from her for strange reasons. It was revealed that she would have a close relationship with the knight, but she was unsure about how close they would be. He was a pretty interesting troll, and she hoped to get as close to him as possible if that's how their relationship was to be. Maybe her friend the huntress would even foresee them being in a flushed quadrant together despite her not actually being a seer. A puff of flame illuminated the room, and the seer turned her attention to a little dragon perched on a shelf. She walked over and stroked it on the head, and it let out a soft purr as she did so. Dragons were always around her home, and they were like her family. Of course, she had her own dragon lusus who was her actual "mother", and she resided in a cave near the seer's home.

The seer eagerly anticipated the arrival of her friends, but she would have to wait for them to come tomorrow. It was raining tonight, and they were currently asleep in a cave. She'd witnessed their little skirmish with a group of bandits from earlier, so she would be sure to be mindful of their injuries. They must be exhausted from their long journey, and they had every right to take breaks every now and then. Surely they were running low on food by now, so she would be able to provide them with more food once they visited. Looking around her hive, she decided to clean up in anticipation of her guests' arrival. Having a messy hive would not be a good thing, so she grabbed a broom and swept around, making sure to pick up things and put them away or in the trash. A few of her smaller dragons decided to help out with discarding the trash, and she was fine with it as long as they did not set the place on fire. After cleaning up a bit, she made sure everything was neat and orderly, or else her guests might not enjoy their stay. Although, the knight might throw a fit whether the hive was clean or not, and she laughed to herself.

* * *

Man, some of you guys get really close to figuring out some things that will happen later on well done. Thanks to all who've begun reading this!

Some Notes:  
- This does not take place on Alternia, so it is just some random kingdom AU  
- Some objects,clothes,etc. might be anachronistic  
- Occasional troll terms will be used e.g. lusus,hive,etc. but normal words will usually be used so: horse instead of hoofbeast  
- I did a stupid doodle of the blueblooded bandit on a post-it just to give me a visual on his face  
- I could not think of a good chapter title for this so it's kind of cheesy


	3. The Seer

Chapter 3: The Seer

Sunlight peeked through the clouds and shone on the ground near the mouth of the cave. Nepeta stretched, wincing as she did so, and carefully eased herself into a sitting position. She let out a huge yawn and blinked groggily. She was able to sleep well last night despite her back being sore from her large bruise. Karkat lay curled up on his side and breathed in and out evenly as he slept, and Nepeta watched him with interest. He looked so calm in his sleep, which was a stark contrast from his normally crabby behavior. If only he was this sweet when he was awake, then maybe he would like her better. What she really wanted was for him to like her and not think of her as annoying because she truly did enjoy his company despite his acrimonious disposition. Perhaps he would like her more if she stopped being so cheerful and sweet all the time, but she couldn't help it. That's the way she had always been, and she hoped to stay that way for the rest of her life. Her hand felt something soft, and she realized that she had been obliviously stroking his hair. Heat rushed to her face, but she realized how nice it felt to stroke his hair and did not want to stop anytime soon. The sleeping knight beside her shifted in his sleep and purred softly, and Nepeta smiled as she continued to stroke his hair. His eyes opened and blinked the sleep out of his eyes, and Nepeta reluctantly withdrew her hand from his head. Karkat rolled over slowly and onto his back, staring into Nepeta's olive eyes.

"What were you doing?"

"I was just stroking your hair," she smiled.

He frowned and rolled his eyes," Don't touch my hair, Nepeta."

"I'm sorry. You seemed to like it though when you were sleeping."

"That's because I found out that you were the one stroking my hair. I thought you were someone else."

She raised an accusatory brow," Oh? Who do you think was stroking your hair if not me?"

He paused for a moment,"…No one in particular. Now put that eyebrow back down where it was."

She giggled and relaxed her face," You're so silly, Karkitty."

"What did you just call me?"

She leaned down until her face was an inch away from his," I think it's about time that I gave you a cat related nickname, so I've decided to call you Karkitty!"

His eyes narrowed," Please get your obnoxious face out of mine and do _not _call me Karkitty. That is the paradigm of the most embarrassing nicknames ever."

"Okay then I suppose I will call you Mr. Crabby-Wabby Cutesy Kissy Squishy Bubblecheeks," she grinned.

He blinked," Karkitty it is then."

"Great!"

He sat up and groaned in pain as he did so, and Nepeta let out a giggle to which he gave a withering glare in response. The two trolls ate breakfast in the cave and began packing up the tarp for traveling once again. In his opinion, everything was hurting much more than it did yesterday, and he really did not want to move anything but settled for just riding without his chainmail. Besides, Nepeta was injured just as badly and did not even have chain mail to wear for protection, so he really had no reason to voice his complaints. Riding was becoming a pain, however, since his injuries were hurting, and Nepeta felt the same way as he did. It was not long before they reached a meadow in the middle of the forest that stretched out very far. Karkat looked over to see a very bouncy and excited Nepeta, and he wondered what she was so excited about until she abruptly rode off ahead of him. With an exasperated sigh, he followed after her and came to a halt in the middle of the meadow. She sat in front of him with her back turned, and her horse grazed on some grass a few feet away. Karkat looked at Nepeta with a displeased expression on his face and slid off his horse to sit beside her with his elbow resting on his knee and pressed his cheek to his hand. She seemed to be doing something strange with the flowers in front of her, and he watched her quietly for a few moments. Once she with whatever it was she was doing with the flowers, she turned to him with a huge grin and placed the object on his head.

"What did you place on my head?"

"I made you a flower crown! Sometimes Equius and I will find a meadow like this and we'll make flower crowns together! It's so much fun, and the flowers look so pretty!" she exclaimed.

His name was Karkat Vantas, and he was officially fed up with Nepeta's actions.

She pouted," Don't look so aggravated! I'm going to teach you how to make them too!"

He rolled his eyes but decided to listen to Nepeta and have some fun for a change. The first of his flower crowns turned out to be a complete disaster as well as the second and the third. He argued with her and yelled and used every profanity he could think of, but she was just so patient with him. Eventually, he got the hang of it and made a flower crown that wasn't a complete and total disaster, and Nepeta beamed at him with pride at her success in teaching him. He smiled a little and gently placed his finished product onto Nepeta's hair, and she accepted it willingly. She continued to work on another flower crown, but he decided to watch her for a little while. He made a good choice choosing white and pink flowers for this flower crown because the colors looked good against Nepeta's dark hair, and she looked so precious as she worked with her flower crown with the flowers in her hair. Maybe it wasn't so bad being paired up with her for this mission after all. He just needed to relax a little like she wanted him to and just relax. Perhaps he could even consider her a friend at this stage, but that was all they'd ever be. She was too naïve and childish to consider for a matesprit, and he needed someone other than her to be with him in his opinion. Certainly another troll would be better suited for a matespritship with Nepeta but not him. Not only was she too childish for him, but he was not good enough for a kind troll like her. He gently tapped her shoulder and reminded her that they were on a mission, and they would need to return to Feferi with news quickly. She nodded and followed him to their horses, and they began to ride off once more.

Soon, the forest began to thin out more, and the ground began transitioning from mossy undergrowth to rocky terrain. The area was becoming quite familiar to both trolls as they realized where they were heading. As they continued to travel, the temperature slowly increased, and the sky grew darker. Wisps of white smoke unfurled out of cracks in the ground and quiet bubbling was heard throughout the air, so Karkat and Nepeta had to be careful while traveling the area. The horses flinched at the sound of roaring in the distance, and Nepeta looked around for any immediate dangers but found none. Karkat and Nepeta made sure to be wary of any dangers since they were traveling into dragon territory. A friend of theirs lived in the area, and she was a blind seer with an affinity for the color red. Only the sounds of clopping hooves, the distant roars of dragons, and the bubbling of lava filled the air as the two trolls rode in silence through the dangerous territory. Soon, more lava was seen spilling slowly over rocks and gliding through cracks, which made the horses nervous. Nepeta and Karkat decided to dismount and walk with their horses through the terrain. A dragon flew towards the trolls, and Karkat and Nepeta had to run with the horses as it tried to attack them. A huge rock loomed nearby, so Nepeta and Karkat ran to hide beside it. The dragon swooped low and the trolls and horses ducked as it neared them. An angry shout was heard as well as a few scoldings from a female voice, and the dragon flew off and out of sight. Karkat had Nepeta pressed against him protectively as he leaned against the rock with the reins of his steed in his hand.

"Well, if it isn't Nepeta Leijon and Sir Karkat of the Crab Blade," a blind troll grinned as she approached them.

She was a few inches taller than Nepeta and had similar horns-except hers were more conical and elongated-and she was a tealblood. Her name was Terezi Pyrope, and she was a blind seer who loved dragons and the color red. Terezi grinned a lot more than Nepeta and showed off her sharp pearly whites-much to the discomfort of any guest who she did not know personally. She was very good friends with Nepeta and Karkat as well.

"Terezi!" Karkat and Nepeta shouted at the same time before looking at each other in surprise.

"You know her?" Karkat asked.

"Of course I do! I've known her ever since I was almost attacked by one of her dragons while hunting nearby!" Nepeta exclaimed.

"I see. I've known her from a few times that I've had to visit while guiding groups of my men through this area," Karkat explained.

"Well, it's nice to know that you two have gotten to know each other! How long have you known each other," Terezi asked.

" Not including today, we've spent a total of three days with each other," Nepeta responded.

"Hehehe, it's nice to see you two here again and together this time! Let me bring you to my hive, so you two don't run into anymore trouble with the dragons," she laughed and began to lead the way to her hive.

The three trolls made it through the torrid, rocky terrain with ease and no more interference from any more dragons. Cobblestones led up to a fairly large cottage overlooking a cliff which gave a good view of the southern area of the kingdom in the distance. Inside the cottage was Terezi's room across from the front door, a bathroom beside her room, a kitchen to the right of the front door, and a large den with a door leading to a guest room. Dragon statues and other knick knacks decorated the cottage, and little dragons flew around the cottage occasionally letting out little puffs of fire. Terezi led Nepeta and Karkat to the den and had them sit down on the couch and rest for a bit while she began to cook something for lunch. Nepeta eased herself onto the couch cushions and let out a sigh of contentment as she pressed her bruised back gently into the soft material. Karkat sat beside her and leaned his head back closing his eyes for a few moments. The scent of food mixed with the acrid odor of smoke from the dragons' flames danced through the air and permeated the rooms of the cottage. An aqua dragon flew over to Nepeta and landed in her lap looking at her with curious eyes. Nepeta smiled and cautiously stroked its head with her index finger, and the dragon purred softly in response to her touch. It let out a small puff of fire and circled a few times before settling down and curling into a ball to sleep. She smiled at the fire-breathing reptile asleep in her lap while gently stroking its back with her fingertips. It was pint-sized compared the flying giants outside of the cottage; she wondered if it was a baby or merely a smaller species of dragon. Her eyes wandered around the room taking in her surroundings and rested their gaze on the crystal ball resting on a pillow on top of a table. A slight shifting from the knight beside her diverted her olive gaze to him, but his eyes were still closed with his head leaning against the couch.

Terezi popped her head from around the corner to check on her two guests and summoned them to the kitchen for lunch. Nepeta stood up slowly from the couch and walked past Karkat into the kitchen, and he followed right behind her. They were both greeted with the enticing aroma of some type of stew, and Nepeta could feel her mouth watering as she sat down at the table. Karkat took his place beside her, and Terezi served them each with a bowl of calescent stew. Nepeta blew gently on her stew to cool it down before taking a bite of the juicy meat and allowing the succulent flavors to dance over her taste buds. Her mouth curved into a smile with satisfaction as she took another bite of the stew. Karkat seemed to be enjoying the stew as well, but he made sure to pace himself or risk scalding his tongue. Terezi grinned as she sensed her two guests were enjoying their lunch and were eating peacefully. Once they finished eating, Terezi stood up and cleared the bowls and utensils from the table and ushered Karkat and Nepeta back into the den while she cleaned up. The two trolls seated themselves once again on the couch and waited for Terezi to reappear in the den after she finished cleaning. Nepeta idly looked around the room out of boredom drumming her fingers on the couch while she waited. Karkat glanced over to Nepeta sitting beside him, but he jerked away his gaze once Terezi entered the room again.

"I've been expecting you two," Terezi announced.

"I suppose that would be inevitable considering the path of our mission lead us right through dragon territory where your home is located," Karkat replied.

She nodded," I am also to be accompanying you on your journey."

"The Empress never said anything about you joining us."

"Yes, but she is the Empress, and I am a seer."

"Well, how are you joining us?"

"I don't think taking along any of my dragons would be very helpful since you two are traveling with horses, and we don't want any mishaps. I can, however, ride with one of you two," she leaned in towards Karkat," Surely you wouldn't mind that would you, Karkles?"

He threw up his hands enraged," WHAT IS IT WITH YOU GIRLS AND YOUR STUPID NICKNAMES?"

She cackled," Is that a yes, Karkat?"

He huffed and crossed his arms," I suppose it's alright if you travel with us."

"That's great! Besides, now that you're here, I can supply us with more food and anything else you two may need! Also, I think it's about time that you two took proper baths," she grinned devilishly," It wouldn't do for you two to bathe in a river now would it?"

He flushed," YOU SPIED ON US WHILE WE WERE BATHING?"

"Pssh of course not, but my crystal ball did show me that you two were nearing a river after that skirmish with the bandits. Nepeta also pulled out that bar of soap, so I knew what was coming up next."

"I'm just take a bath first," he whispered in a strained before standing up and leaving the room.

"Hehehe Karkat is still crabby as ever isn't he?"

Nepeta smiled," Yeah he really is."

"Oh darn I forgot to comment on that cute little flower crown that he wore earlier. Did you make that for him, Nepeta?"

"Yes, we were in a meadow earlier, so we stopped to make flower crowns!"

"Aww that sounds like fun! I bet you looked adorable as usual!"

"Hee hee I guess so."

"Do you still have your shipping wall?"

"Oh, yes I do! I also have a journal that I copied everything down to in case I need it on the go."

"That's good! I was just wondering, who do you see me being with?"

Nepeta giggled," Aren't you a seer? Surely you should know who you would end up with."

"I would rather ask you than foresee that information from my crystal ball. After all, you are a master shipper, Nepeta."

"I suppose, but I'm really not sure who you would be with."

"That's okay I'm not too impatient to know who it is. Karkat has changed since the last time I saw him- hehehe well you know what I mean."

"You've known him fur awhile?"

"Indeed I have known him for a while. He's really nice once you get to know him, but he is so temperamental sometimes. I like how he cares for people and how funny he looks when he gets crabby. You know I was one of the first trolls to know about his mutant blood color that he bravely flaunts about. He used to be so secretive about it, but he is able to show it off confidently now that he is serving under Feferi- I mean Her Empirical Effervescence."

"That's interesting. How did you ever find out before he became a knight?"

"Well, I got close enough to smell him when we were younger, and I was able to catch the scent of his blood color. It certainly did not smell like any blood color that I have smelled before, and that interested me. He had me swear not to tell anyone about it, but he eventually had to reveal it as he got older. Luckily for him, Her Empirical Effervescence would not allow for anyone to harm or kill him. By the way, has he ever talked to you about me before?"

"No, he has not talked about you or I would have known that he knew about you. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering because-well here's a little secret- I kissed him when we were younger!"

"You kissed Sir Karkat Vantas of the Crab Blade?"

"Yes, I did! It was nice actually, but I did not enjoy it as much since I was a lot younger. I wonder if it would feel better if I were to kiss him now."

Nepeta had this strange feeling in her gut, but she did not know what it was.

"Maybe you could try finding out! Of course, you would have to get closer to him and soften him up a bit more in order to kiss him. He's a bit difficult to tolerate."

The doorknob leading to the guestroom jiggled, and Nepeta and Terezi turned to see Karkat opening the door. Nepeta was not expecting to behold the sight before her eyes at this moment and she could feel her face heating up and wanted to exit the room as quickly as possible, but her feet refused to move and kept her glued to the spot. Karkat stood in the doorframe wearing only a towel around his waist and dripping wet from his bath, and Terezi's Cheshire cat grin reappeared on her lips. He stared at the huntress and the seer for a full minute before opening his mouth to speak.

"I left my cloak in here," he muttered before grabbing said clothing item off the couch and walking quickly back into the guest room.

"Well, that was unexpected!" Terezi laughed.

Nepeta brought her hands to her face and closed her eyes," Th-that was unexpected."

"By the way, do you mind having to share a bed with him in the guest room, or shall I have him sleep out here on the couch? There is only a double bed in the guest room, and I have not had the time to buy an extra mattress."

"I-I don't mind sharing a bed with Karkat. We have slept close to each other before coming here, so it's not like it would be strange or anything."

"Alright, well if you have any problems, feel free to tell me about it, and I'll see what I can do for you!"

Nepeta nodded and walked into the guest room to sit on the bed while Karkat finished getting dressed. He stepped out again fully clothed and muttered an apology for walking out indecently dressed in a towel, and she smiled and told him it was no big deal. She stood up gathering her clothes and walked into the bathroom to take her bath. She turned on the faucet and messed with the position a little before stopping it where the temperature was suitable for her liking, and she plugged the bathtub and turned off the water. The water was nice and warm to the touch, which was a stark contrast to the cold water of the river she bathed in the day before. Her back was still very sore from the huge bruise that formed from being thrown into a tree, but she would have to deal with the pain and soreness until it disappeared. She grabbed the bottle of shampoo sitting on the shelf above the bathtub and gently lathered it into her short hair. Ah yes, the feel of warm water and good soap combined into a proper bath felt very relaxing. She stood up and grabbed the sponge and body wash to start cleaning up her body. Goosebumps formed on her skin as it met the cold air of the bathroom and she carefully scrubbed away the dirt and grime from her body. It felt really nice to be clean once again, but that pleasant feeling would disappear once they continued their mission to the south. Bubbles covered her body and hair but floated onto the surface of the water as she sank back into the tub to rinse off. Reluctantly, she stepped out of the tub with water dripping to the bathroom floor to grab her towel and dry off. She pulled on her clothes and dried her hair a bit more before stepping out of the bathroom and into the guest room.

Karkat must have been exhausted, for he was fast asleep under the covers. Nepeta smiled and put away her dirty clothes before walking over and crawling onto the bed next to Karkat. He sneezed in his sleep, which caused Nepeta to freeze, but he resumed sleeping while Nepeta slowly crawled underneath the covers. He looked so peaceful in his sleep just as he did the first time Nepeta watched him sleep, but she was not going to start stroking his hair this time. As her head sank into the pillow, she wondered who he could have possibly thought was stroking his hair if not her. Perhaps he had been thinking about Terezi and maybe she was stroking his hair in his dream. Nepeta smiled to herself, for she hoped that Terezi would be able to establish a relationship with Karkat. Terezi was such a good friend of hers, and she really did not want anything to come between them. If anything like that happened, she would not know if she would be able to live with herself if they had a falling out. Her eyelids closed over her olive eyes as she drifted off to sleep with the distant roar of dragons permeating the afternoon silence. Terezi opened the door silently to check on her two guests to find that they were asleep, but this was fine with her since they had been traveling all day. Her fingers drifted to the cloth wrapped around her eyes as she stood pensively by the door; she had been experimenting with some potions and hoped her sight would return. It had been a long time since she'd seen anything, and she would hopefully be able to see how grown up her two friends looked now. She was getting closer to figuring out a remedy to her lost sight, and a blind dragon friend of hers was willing to be her test subject.

oOoOoOo

Nepeta opened her eyes to meet the gray dawn and found that Karkat was no longer sleeping by her side. She yawned and stretched her limbs, wincing slightly from her still sore back. Light filtered in through the cracked door and the sound of Terezi's cackle filled the air. Her eyebrows furrowed and head cocked to the side with curiosity, and she slowly crawled off of the bed to sneak into the den with soundless footsteps. Neither Karkat or Terezi were in the den, so she quietly advanced towards the kitchen and slowly peeked around the corner. Terezi was busy with making pancakes, and Karkat stood beside her making scrambled eggs. He seemed to be irritated with her flipping the pancakes since she was blind and would not be able to see where the pancake would land if she tossed it up high. She merely pushed him to the side and told him that the pancakes would be fine and she would not drop them. He scowled at her and growled menacingly at her, but Terezi merely darted in and pecked him on the lips. Karkat immediately shut up and looked at her in surprise, and Terezi turned back to her pancake flipping. Nepeta was unprepared for the next thing that happened, for Karkat leaned in and placed a tender kiss on Terezi's forehead. She stared at them inquisitively and wondered why her chest was hurting. She hoped nothing serious was occurring with her, so she ignored the pain in hopes of it disappearing soon. There was no need to worry them with any silly chest pains, so she continued to watch her two companions cooking breakfast and occasionally bickering with each other. A smile came to her lips as she observed their behavior; they were acting like quarreling matesprits. Surely they would flourish into a flushed relationship with each other and be sweet and affectionate. Her shipping senses were tingling but, at the same time, her chest still stung and she wondered why.

"Good morning!" she called out to them.

Terezi turned around," Good morning, Nepeta, did you sleep well last night?"

"Yes, I did!"

"Well, it's good to see you finally dragged your lethargic cat haunches out of bed, Nepeta," Karkat grumbled.

Nepeta giggled, "It's good to see you too this morning, Karkitty!"

"Again with the Karkitty?"

"Unless you would rather me call you Mr. Crabby-Wabby Cutesy Kissy Squishy Bubblecheeks?" she purred mischievously.

"No, do _not _call me that, Nepeta."

"Hehehe that would be such a cute name for you, Karkles."

"No, it would not, Terezi."

"Oh don't be such a downer, Karkitty."

"Yeah, Karkles."

"Kitkat."

"Karkandy."

"Shut up you two!"

Nepeta sat down at the table," We were only playing around, Karkat."

"I don't think I will be able to tolerate you two on the rest of this mission."

"Then you can stay here at my hive, and I can go with Nepeta to finish investigating for you!"

He pointed his spatula at Terezi," No, you will not."

"You know I don't really like burned food," Nepeta said casually.

Terezi and Karkat returned their attention to breakfast and brought the food onto plates in order to keep it from burning and causing a fire. They were already surrounded by dragons and lava, so there was no need for anymore fires to be started. Breakfast was finally served, and the three trolls began to eat without anymore arguments. Karkat commented on how well breakfast was cooked, and Terezi merely replied that it was only delicious because she had his help. Nepeta smiled and ate her pancakes while listening to Karkat and Terezi chat with each other, but she felt a little out of place with them. She glanced up one moment to see that Karkat had a piece of pancake stuck to the corner of his mouth, and Terezi leaned forward to lick it off, causing Karkat to blush and sputter angrily. She blushed as well without intending to and looked away from them, and Karkat protested to Terezi that she was making Nepeta feel awkward. Terezi turned to Nepeta and apologized for making her feel awkward, but she merely smiled and told Terezi that she was alright. Once breakfast was over, all three trolls began preparing to continue the mission towards the south. Terezi began packing some potions and remedies she had on her shelves in case of any major injuries, Nepeta packed food that would be able to last them several days while traveling, and Karkat gathered any miscellaneous items that might be needed on the way there. Nepeta walked out to untie the horses from where they were kept and brought them over to the front entrance to the cottage. Karkat walked out of the cottage with the newly filled saddlebags and began attaching them to the horses' saddles. Terezi came out shortly after and locked the door to the cottage before heading over to Karkat and his horse. Nepeta mounted her horse once she finished attaching her saddlebags and waited as Karkat and Terezi mounted his horse. After everyone was all set and ready to travel, they began navigating through the dragons' territory and to the next forest leading into the southern area of the kingdom where the disturbance was.

The day was bright and sunny with sparse clouds dotting the sky, but there would not be any more rain during the week. Wildflowers sprouted up from the ground like young girls showing off their colorful dresses in the warm sunshine that fell through the leaves of the trees above. A sweet floral scent drifted through the woods as the trolls rode through the forest and gave off a pleasing atmosphere. Nepeta glanced over every now and then to see Terezi leaning against Karkat affectionately, and she could not help but feel a sinking feeling. She was at a loss as to what the cause of this sinking feeling was, but she presumed that it had to do with how she saw Karkat and Terezi together. It was strange to her because she knew Terezi was harboring flushed feelings towards Karkat, and he seemed to be interested in her by the way he reacted to her affections. She did not want to feel this way because there was no point in getting upset with them being together. They were both very dear to her as much as her moirail was, and she did not want to get in the way of their slowly budding relationship. She wished that her chest would stop hurting anytime she saw them acting romantically towards each other, but it was difficult due to the way she would stare at Karkat every now and then. A sharp pain erupted from her head and startled her until she realized that she knocked her head against a low hanging branch that could have easily been avoided had she ducked in time. Karkat turned his head and asked if she was alright, and she assured him that she was okay with an embarrassed nod of her head. She faced forward once again with a sigh being softly expelled from her lungs and her posture slowly hunched over with embarrassment and a slight lack of confidence.

* * *

I really like reading reviews, so don't be afraid to type one!


	4. I Think I Like You

Chapter 4: I Think I Like You

It was now evening and time to stop and rest for the night, and the trolls discovered a good place to rest. They were near a waterfall which fell peacefully into the quiet river below. Nepeta began to set up the tarp for the night and Karkat assisted her with putting it up as usual. Terezi began to start a fire, but Karkat stopped her before she burned herself. She argued with him saying that she was perfectly capable of starting a fire herself without getting burned despite being blind, but he insisted that he should start it because there was no time to be starting forest fires. She smirked at him and asked if he was really that concerned about her safety, and he blushed and muttered a yes in response. Meanwhile, Nepeta sat on a flat rock nearby while they argued and busied herself with skipping stones across the river. Both of them had been going on like this all day, and she was becoming exhausted from having to listen to them arguing with each other. She wondered if this is what Karkat really wanted in a matespritship, but he had only seen Terezi for about a day and a half. Maybe their nonstop bickering would stop soon and develop into a more loving and tender matespritship, but she could only hope for now. The sound of a crackling fire diverted the oliveblooded troll's gaze from the smooth river to Karkat sitting on a rock as Terezi stood over the fire and made sure it was stable. Karkat sat in silence as he watched her turn towards him with a satisfied grin to which he rolled his eyes in response. Terezi motioned for Nepeta to come sit with them, and she slowly complied with her friend's request. Terezi sat beside Nepeta and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, being mindful of her back.

"Nepeta, have you filled any quadrants aside from your pale quadrant?" Terezi asked.

Nepeta smiled," No, I have not filled any other quadrants yet."

"Are you hoping for a matesprit or a kismesis next?"

"Yes, I'm hoping to fill the flushed quadrant with someone, but no one has really caught my eye yet. I'm not exactly sure I'm red quadrant worthy."

"Why not? You hunt beasts and kick butt while looking absolutely precious at the same time! Who wouldn't want to fill your red quadrant?"

"I don't know. It's not that easy to get a matesprit, Terezi."

"I'm sure someone will fall for you soon!"

"Have you become closer to accomplishing your task to heal your eyesight?"

"I believe I'm really close, but I have not tested out the remedy. I did bring it me just in case I wanted to try it out, but I've been putting it off for so long."

"You should try using it!"

"I'm not comfortable with using it yet."

"Well, I hope it works fur you when you decide to use it!"

"Hehehe thank you, Nepeta, you've always been so sweet."

"If you two are done chatting like bluebirds in a tree, I would like some help with this food," Karkat growled.

"Oh, Karkles, you could have waited for us to finish talking before going to get the food," sighed as she grabbed a few food items from him and sat down.

"Well, we need to eat and get to sleep as soon as possible, so we can wake up early and leave this place. We are on a mission you know," he snapped.

She sighed," Karkat, we don't have to be in such a hurry. If Her Empirical Effervescence said for you to return as soon as possible, she would have specified for you and Nepeta to be as swift as possible."

"I suppose so, but we cannot spend our time dilly-dallying and smelling roses _and_," he shot a glare at Nepeta," making flower crowns."

Nepeta crossed her arms and shot him an indignant look," I seem to recall that you enjoyed making flower crowns with me, Sir Karkat."

"I actually did not enjoy participating in that."

"Karkat, stop being rude to her. She hasn't done anything wrong."

Karkat took a deep breath and left the area with his share of food leaving Nepeta and Terezi to eat in silence. Terezi turned to face Nepeta and tilted her head in an apologetic manner since her eyes were covered by the cloth wrapped around her head; Nepeta sighed and ate her dinner before going off for a walk in the forest. She was unsure if Karkat really liked her as a friend in any way shape or form because of his abrasiveness, but it was probably okay that they were not too close. Karkat was a difficult person to be around with his crabby temperament, but she couldn't help wanting to be liked by him. Despite every rude thing he said to her, she believed that he cared for her deep inside, and he showed that by defending her against the blueblood who kissed her forcefully. She wondered what it was that he needed to show his softer side, but she could not figure it out. Terezi seemed to bring out his softer side more than she did, but Karkat still argued with Terezi even more than he did with her. He was quite a confusing troll to deal with, but she knew she would be able to get in touch with his softer side. After a few minutes, Nepeta decided to turn around and head back to where they set up camp for the night. Laughter floated through the air as she approached the area, so she slowed her pace in order not to interrupt anything. Terezi was sitting by the river with Karkat chatting with him, and he seemed to have calmed down from his earlier tirade. His arm was around the blind seer's waist, and he listened to her quietly; it sounded like they were catching up on old times they spent together as children. Nepeta sighed wistfully as she observed the two trolls from a distance; she felt like a third wheel now and contemplated on abandoning the mission and letting Karkat go on ahead. He seemed to be doing well without her in the first place, and there was no point in sticking around if she was just going to be a nuisance to him. Indeed, he did look content sitting with Terezi, and a smile gently blossomed on his face. Nepeta walked out of the trees and over to the tarp to lie down and forget about the day's events. She eased herself onto the ground and pulled her cloak up to her chin as her eyelids drooped closed and enveloping her in darkness. Footsteps were heard a few minutes later and another body lay beside her, but she did not bother opening her eyes to see whether it was Terezi or Karkat. At this point, she really did not care and merely concentrated on falling asleep.

Everything was wet, but she did not know why. Her olive eyes opened to see a candy red sky and that she was sleeping in water. She sat up slightly confused and took in her surroundings which were foreign in appearance to her eyes. The trees were the color of her moirail's blood but had no leaves, and she slowly stood up in the expanse of water she was in. It was odd that the water appeared to be teal in color like Terezi's blood, but she paid no mind to it and walked out of the water. A soft light glowed from her body, and she looked down to see her clothes replaced with a white dress. She shrugged and merely continued walking through the peculiar forest of blue trees. _Surely this dream must have some significance. _She thought to herself as she continued walking. The very atmosphere of her dream was quite unnerving, so she assumed it was a nightmare. Karkat materialized before her with an apathetic expression on his face and held out his hand to her. She tentatively placed her hand in his, and he quietly led her through the forest. A strange dripping noise sounded throughout the forest, but she could not identify the source of the dripping noise no matter which way she turned her head. Karkat did not utter a word as he lead Nepeta through the forest, but she decided not to ask any questions. Ahead of the forest was a single tree with something fastened to a branch and, upon closer inspection, it was a noose. Nepeta panicked and tried to pull away from Karkat's grasp, but he merely tightened his grip and increased his speed. He led her over to the tree and released his grip from her hand, and she merely stood there staring at the noose. An abrupt wetness soaked her hands, and she looked down to see blood soaking her palms, sliding down her arms and splattered across the white dress. Her eyes widened in shock at the sight of the blood color, for it looked all too familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. She was unsure what this was to mean, and looked at the noose once again in confusion. _What is this blood color? Why- Why does this look so familiar? What's going on?_ Questions ran through her head, and she began to feel dizzy until everything around her turned black.

She screamed and smacked her head on the bottom of the tarp as she sat up, and looked around frantically. The ground was warm beside her, but Karkat and Terezi were nowhere to be found. How rude of them to leave her all by herself without bothering to tell her where they were going. She sighed and stretched her limbs while giving a huge yawn. Maybe she would not talk to them when they came back, for they seemed to be so focused on each other whether affectionately or argumentatively and barely paid attention to her. Regret flooded her mind as she contemplated this, and she wished she and Karkat had not gone to Terezi's hive-at least not at the same time. Perhaps a walk would help her clear the remaining cobwebs of that nightmare she had, but she could not get the sight of that blood color out of her mind. She felt like she knew some troll with that blood color, but whoever it belonged to evaded her mind. If only her moirail were here to talk about her feelings with him, for she was in desperate need of someone other than Karkat or Terezi to talk to. Sadly, she was on an important mission for the Empress, and she had no way of contacting her dear moirail way out in the forest. With a sigh, she turned about face and began to head back to where they set up camp to rest for the night. The knight and seer had returned to the camp in her absence and were busy getting breakfast. Terezi apologized for their absence and explained that she needed Karkat for protection as she gathered herbs for breakfast, and Nepeta merely smiled with an understanding nod of her head. A hand grabbed her wrist, and she was dragged into a sitting position next to the seer who handed her a plate of bread, cheese, apples, and salmon. She looked at her food in surprise from the well-prepared breakfast. Surely this was way too fancy for a normal breakfast out in the forest, but she shrugged her shoulders and began eating. Terezi wore a huge grin on her face which indicated how pleased she was in preparing breakfast this morning. Karkat sat on a rock across from his two companions eating his breakfast in silence, but he did not seem to be as petulant as he had been a few days prior to meeting to Terezi.

oOoOoOo

Two more days passed as the knight, huntress, and seer traveled through the forest, and Nepeta felt herself growing more distanced from both of them to the point where she stopped talking. The two were so focused on each other without bothering to take in their friend's feelings into consideration, and she desperately wanted to turn around and go home straightaway. Her existence was barely acknowledged by her companions and more acknowledged by the two horses carrying their riders. It was now time for the riders to dismount from the two steeds and take a rest for day. Clouds rolled across the sky in silence and made the forest seem darker than usual, and the three trolls knew it would begin raining again sometime soon. Karkat sat underneath a tree with Terezi and talked to her, and she listened to him or argued with him, but Nepeta was left to tether the horses down and sat on a log with her arms folded across her chest. Within the past few days, she noticed that she stopped smiling like she used to and wore a neutral expression or a frown. Whether the other two noticed, she did not know and did not care; she was obviously not important to them anymore, so it would not matter. Something kept tugging at her mind and yanked on her heartstrings, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Karkat slid an arm around Terezi's waist, and this action elicited a strange reaction in Nepeta's mind. Whatever it was, she did not enjoy this strange feeling, but it hurt to watch them together acting so affectionate. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion; why was she feeling this way in the first place? Didn't she want to see Karkat and Terezi being affectionate together? Was it not her goal to get them together and form a matespritship? The two had been very close for the past couple of days, but they weren't in a matespritship together, which made her confused.

Karkat had slightly messy, curly hair and candy red eyes which accompanied his candy red blood flowing through his veins; he was a mutantblood. He was a knight under the service of Her Empirical Effervescence and was skilled with fighting with a sickle. He definitely had defined muscles from his job and light scars criss-crossing his gray skin from past injuries from his sickles, the bridge of his nose sloped in a fashion that looked really attractive, his cheekbones were prominent, and he looked quite handsome overall. Butterflies filled her stomach as she realized that maybe she liked Karkat more than she thought. A feeling of dread overcame her as she watched Karkat gently removing the cloth bound around Terezi's head, and the blind seer tilted her head in slight confusion as he leaned in for a kiss. A voice inside Nepeta's head screamed at her to look away. To stop watching. To not witness what was about to happen. Yet she could not pry her gaze from what lay in front of her and felt some physical discomfort for reasons that she did not know why. This was more than just a quick peck on the lips, and Karkat seemed to be enjoying himself as he got into the kiss and slowly rubbed circles into Terezi's back, and she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck. Nepeta froze in place for a few moments at this spectacle before her until finally deciding to stand up and shakily walk away from the two lovebirds. She forced herself to smile as she left the area, but her shoulders hunched up and she shook as she walked. _This is a dream right? I-I don't actually have feelings for Karkat because that's silly. It's silly and stupid and ridiculous, and I do not like him like that at all in any way whatsoever. I shouldn't be feeling that way about him in the first place because he's clearly interested in Terezi, so there's no reason as to why I should be feeling jealous right now. Wait. Am I jealous? I am jealous aren't I? Wh-Why am I jealous? I shouldn't be jealous of Karkat. It's his decision to choose who he wants as his matesprit and not mine. Besides, Terezi is a really good friend of mine, and I really don't want to get in between them._

Her breathing increased in speed and she grabbed a low hanging branch to steady herself as she walked. She was determined not cry because there was no point in crying. He was in love with Terezi, and she couldn't do anything about it. Suddenly, she lurched forward and realized that she stepped in some loose dirt near a sharp drop and slid forward. Her arms flailed in order to regain balance and reached out to grab something to steady herself but to no avail as she fell forward. She squeezed her eyes shut as she fell through the air and made impact with the first hard rock which hit her ribcage and somersaulted into another rock which connected with her right shoulder. Her body tumbled down the sharp drop and hit rocks on the way down before rolling down the rest of the way getting covered in dirt and leaves. She rolled off of another drop, which was considerably shorter than the first one, and landed with a thud onto some branches. Everything was sore and her head throbbed uncomfortably while her ribcage ached and olive blood steadily oozed out of cuts she received on the way down. She wasn't sure if she could really move anything and wondered if her ankle was sprained or just badly bruised. Thunder rumbled overhead and raindrops fell onto her face as she stared sleepily into the gray sky.

"NEPETA!" a voice called out to her.

"Where are you?!" a second voice sounded after the first.

She didn't need them.

"NEPETA, THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"

She didn't need Karkat.

"Nepeta, please we're worried about you!"

She didn't need Terezi.

"NEPETA, I SWEAR IF YOU'RE PLAYING A PRANK ON US THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR IT!"

They didn't need her.

"Oh no. Karkat, there's dirt sliding down this drop over here!"

She just needed to rest, and she would be alright when she woke up.

"GAAAH! IS THAT HER LYING DOWN THERE?! NEPETA, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

A voice was calling out to her, and she did not know why.

"Karkat, this is a really steep drop. She must be in a lot of pain right now, and we have to get down there!"

Why were there two voices calling out to her? She was an oliveblood. She was not special or anything. She hunted animals for a living and occasionally killed trolls she was assigned to. She was unimportant.

"NEPETA, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OKAY!

"Karkat, stop yelling she's probably too dazed to hear you right now."

Strong arms gently picked up her tiny form as she slowly blacked out. These arms were warm and strong, but they were not her moirail's. Chain mail clinked softly as the wearer ascended the path where he and the seer came to rescue her. His arms cradled her gently as if she were fragile and about to break soon, and she gave no response as everything in her body screamed in agony. The knight and seer brought the huntress back to camp and gently laid her down to tend to her wounds. It was quite some time before Nepeta awoke once again, but she felt sheets over her body and a pillow under her head. She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to her surroundings and turned her gaze to see Karkat sitting in a chair watching her. He stared back at her quietly, and the two were silent for a few minutes.

"Nice to see you're awake, Nepeta," he greeted her.

She groaned softly in pain," Good morning…Where am I?"

"We've made it to the southern area of the kingdom. Terezi and I checked into an inn when we arrived and got you a proper doctor to check over your wounds. You were pretty messed up from that fall down that drop."

"I didn't realize we were so close to town."

"It took us about half a day to travel here. You've been unconscious for three days."

"I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you on this mission."

"It's alright, Nepeta. We have all the time we need. Besides, I'm supposed to be investigating things with _you_."

She smiled," I suppose so."

"What were you thinking when you left camp only to wander off and nearly get yourself killed just by falling off of a cliff?"

She averted her eyes," I…wasn't really thinking about anything."

"Nepeta, don't lie to me I know something happened. What was it?"

"It's really stupid, Karkat, and you really wouldn't care."

"Nepeta, of course I would care about you. Do you have any idea how worried I was when you disappeared? I thought somebody kidnapped you, and, to make matters worse, you dropped off a cliff and injured yourself badly! I thought you were going to die!"

"I'm sorry for worrying you…"

"Never mind that…you're safe now, but I really want to know why you wandered off."

"Well, you and Terezi were distancing yourselves from me in the days prior to that accident, and I just felt completely ignored. It was like I wasn't even there with you two anymore, and you two were so focused on each other."

"I'm sorry for not paying more attention to you. Terezi and I did not mean to make you feel ignored in any way."

"It felt like you did. You two didn't even talk to me fur two days. You didn't even say good morning or even check to see how I was doing."

"You could have started a conversation yourself, Nepeta."

"I did actually, but you two were too absorbed with each other to pay any attention to me. There was no point in me trying to get your attention, Karkat. Even the horses felt sorry for me."

"Okay well I'm sorry for being so interested in a young lady who could potentially be my matesprit."

"We're on a _mission _remember, or are you too thick-headed to even remember such a simple detail as that? You can have time wooing her and kissing her and making out with her and doing whatever you want with her when we're done. At least have the consideration and decency to acknowledge that I'm still here!"

"You can't tell me what to do! Just because you're an oliveblood does not mean that you can boss me around!"

She let out a laugh of disbelief and sat up," What do you think I care that I'm an oliveblood? No, I really don't, and I wasn't even bringing up my status as a higher blood than you until you mentioned it right now!"

"Even so I don't know why you're getting mad at me for wanting to indulge in a little romance. It's hard to find someone who will accept you for who you are despite the color of your blood! Terezi is everything that I could possibly ask for in a matespritship!"

"Is that so? You want a matesprit who constantly points out things in your past that you've failed at, reminded you how much you hate yourself, punches you for absolutely no reason except maybe horseplay-if you can even call it that, argues with you for most of the day, and occasionally oversteps your boundaries?"

"No, she's much more mature than you are, she's blind but capable of handling herself, she's a dear friend of mine and isn't as annoying as you are. In fact, you're childish, vexatious, absolutely ridiculous in your silly antics, you stop to make stupid flower crowns, and you've been nothing but a nuisance to me since day one!" he snapped.

"If I was such a nuisance to you then why didn't you just leave me lying on the ground in the forest? I'm purretty sure you could continue this mission without my so-called _vexatious _presence, childishness, and silly antics."

"You know what? I don't know why I even agreed to having someone like _you_ paired up with me! I should have backed out of this mission when I had the chance! I'm pretty sure Feferi would not have minded if I avoided embarking on a mission with a ditzy airhead like you!"

She growled softly at him and slapped him with as much force as possible across his face which left a satisfying red handprint on his cheek. That felt fantastic, and hopefully the red mark she left would stay on his cheek for awhile. He glared daggers at her and seethed with rage, but she held his gaze with a defiant expression on her face instead of shrinking back in fear. He stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him, and Nepeta flopped back down onto the pillows. Her body ached a little, but it wasn't as severe as she thought it would be since she'd been unconscious for three days straight. What she really wanted was to go home right now and forget that any of this had ever happened. She wanted to see Equius again and have a feelings jam with him and maybe cry a little bit just to relieve some stress and calm down. Sunlight gently filtered in through the curtains on the window, but it was still cloudy outside and more rain was likely to fall later in the day. A strange sound filled the room, and Nepeta recognized it as the borborygmus coming from her abdominal area; she was hungry. Her feet quietly hit the carpeted floor and daintily carried her out of the room in search for food. Terezi passed her in the hallway and greeted her, and she responded politely as she hurried on down the hallway. Once she obtained food, she hoped to feel a whole lot better and forget about her argument with Karkat.

She returned to her room to retrieve her boots before walking out of the inn for some fresh air. Wind blew softly through town and gently ruffled Nepeta's bangs as she took a deep breath and began walking around. Endless chatter from the townsfolk rang through the air and different scents floated around which brought a smile to Nepeta's face. It was nice to get out once again and be able to walk around by herself without anyone to bother her. Something seemed vaguely familiar about the town they were in, and she began to feel slightly uncomfortable about being here. A few guards caught her eye and she caught the insignia of the noble who presided over the town. Her brows furrowed because she knew she had to have seen that insignia before, but she could not remember where it was from. A shudder ran through her body as she had a minor flashback of the nightmare she had in the forest. That blood color was no coincidence either, and she realized that it was related to the insignia in this town. Someone gently tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned around to see a guard standing before her. He was quite tall and dwarfed Nepeta in height, but that was unimportant at the moment. Her eyes widened in surprise at the indigoblood towering over her, but he looked calm which made her relax a little.

"Are you Nepeta Leijon?" he asked.

She nodded her head," Yes, sir, may I help you?"

He reached into his coat pocket and produced a white envelope with a seal on it," This is for you, Miss Leijon. He requests your presence sometime this evening."

He turned on his heel and left Nepeta standing slightly confused in the middle of the street. She leaned against the side of a nearby building and studied the seal intently, and her eyes widened once more as she recognized the seal. The seal on the envelope indicated that the letter was from her boss as well as the insignia in the corner, and she glanced up to see a flag bearing the same insignia on the guard's uniform and her letter. She realized that her boss was the noble presiding over the town she, Karkat, and Terezi were in and carefully unfolded the letter to read it.

_Greetings Miss Leijon,_

_Writing formal letters are not quite a pursuit I desire to partake in, so I will do my best to keep this short. I understand that you have been sent to this area of the kingdom by Her Empirical Effervescence, and I request your presence at my castle around five o'clock this evening. We are to have dinner around seven o'clock, and, being that it is a dinner at my castle, I have selected a lovely dress for you to wear. You shall come alone, for the presence of Sir Karkat of the Crab Blade and the seer Terezi Pyrope are not required. Please do come at the correct times, or I shall have to use force._

_Sincerely, [Redacted]_

He was clearly going to be furious if she did not comply with his orders, so she decided it was best that she went to the castle tonight. The thought of seeing her boss in person for the very first time made her nervous, and she suspected that he was a very high blood color. She thought it would be obvious by the fact that he hired assassins to work under him, so violence was not out of the question should she refuse to obey orders. Coming up with an excuse would be difficult, however, but she could pull it off if she spoke of it to Terezi instead of Karkat. He would most likely want to come with her, but Terezi might be able to keep him at the inn. A tear rolled down her cheek as that thought came to mind and was quickly swept away before anymore spilled out of her eyes. After a glance around at her surroundings, she walked through town for a bit longer and occasionally browsed around shops before heading back to the inn to rest until five o'clock. Terezi came in at one point and apologized for Karkat's brash behavior earlier that morning, and Nepeta brushed it off as nothing and said everything was alright. She remembered to bring up that she was meeting someone later in the evening and was unsure of the time that she would be back. Terezi gave an understanding nod and told her that she would pass on the news to Karkat and would make sure to keep him at the inn or keep him busy. Nepeta relaxed at this as Terezi left the room and calmly lay down on the pillows. She pondered about what dress she was going to wear, for she did not wear fancy dresses often but that was fine with her. Her eyes slowly drooped closed for a little bit, and she drifted off to sleep while waiting for five o'clock to arrive. When she woke up, it was four thirty in the afternoon, so she slid off her bed and exited her room. It was three minutes to five by the time she arrived at the castle, and she revealed her letter to the guards at the doors to allow her inside. The doors slowly swung open for her, and she proceeded to walk inside and through a second set of doors which brought her to an elegantly decorated foyer. Footsteps sounded at the top of the stairs as they descended into the foyer and revealed another lanky indigoblood with face paint and unruly hair and a dazed expression on his face. His tie hung loosely around his neck and a corner of his shirt was not even tucked into his pants, his jacket was open, both cuffs were loose, and everything about him seemed to have an unruly yet formal appearance. Was this man really her boss? He grinned at her and held out his arms to either side of his body slightly bent in greeting.

"Greetings, Miss Leijon, I'm so glad you could join me tonight for some dinner kittysis," he said.

"Hello, Sir, It's nice to finally meet the man who is my boss Lord-" she trailed off.

"Makara. My name is Gamzee Makara, he replied."

Her eyes widened with surprise at the name and a feeling of unease came over her. This troll was her boss, and gave off somewhat of an uninviting aura despite his friendly demeanor. Equius had warned her that he was a dangerous troll when he put his mind to it, and he was a very powerful noble. He reached out a hand for her to shake, and she nervously took it and gave a firm shake. He pulled her to the side of him and turned around to lead her upstairs and casually placed a hand on the small of her back. If anything went wrong, she could possibly be killed, and she was not looking forward to that.

Fiddlesticks.

* * *

Sorry it took awhile to get this out! I was taking a little break from typing this chapter, but now it's finished! Thanks for all the reviews you've been leaving :)!


	5. I'm Dining With a Clown

Chapter 5: I'm Dining With a Clown

Gamzee lead Nepeta up to a guest bedroom and slowly opened the doors, and the huntress' eyes widened at how huge it was. Nepeta supposed that the rooms at the castle were larger but, after traveling in the forest for so long, she'd forgotten how big bedrooms could actually be built. She quietly scanned the room with lavender colored walls, a dark blue rug sprawled beneath a king sized canopy bed covered with an indigo bedspread, twin dark brown nightstands with intricately designed traditional lamps on both sides of the bed, a fairly large dresser of the same dark wood as the nightstands was flushed against the wall, and beside the dresser stood an armoire that towered over Nepeta's head. Above the canopy bed hung a chandelier which twinkled with grace as it thrust its lights throughout the large room. She was amazed at how well furnished the room was and how rich the furniture was, but she decided that she should not be too surprised since she had been to a castle before. Although, she really wondered if this was what a guest room should look like. Gamzee opened the door to the bathroom, and Nepeta ventured over to peek inside. It didn't surprise her to see the large, fancy bathtub inside or the perfectly coordinated bathroom theme. She ogled at the sight of the bathroom and wondered how a _bathroom _of all things could look so elegant.

"Do you like it?" Gamzee asked.

She nodded," It's beautiful…"

"This will be your guest room."

"Am I staying for the night?"

"Only if you want to. I'm not going to force you, but right now I advise you to get ready for dinner."

She nodded again and the indigoblood left the room. He didn't seem threatening in any way, but she couldn't shrug off his kindness as nothing. He could snap at any moment because of his status as a highblood, and she did _not _want to be killed. Her eyes drifted over to the bed once more and saw there was a dress laid out for her to wear to dinner. She walked over to the bed to examine the dress and gently ran her fingers over the fabric. Rhinestones studded the bodice of the light blue, floor length dress and occasionally formed little flowers, and more were scattered across the skirt of the dress on the sheer organza over the taffeta. Her clothes gently hit the ground as she undressed, and she noticed there was a strapless bra lying next to the dress, which caused her cheeks to turn olive. She unfastened her current bra and replaced it with the strapless one; her boss was quite informed about her measurements. After securing her bra, she moved on to unzipping the back of the dress and putting it on carefully. She zipped the back carefully, and the dress fit snugly against her torso, which reduced the chances of it slipping down. Although, she would still have to check every once in awhile to make sure it did not slip down to reveal her bra. A discomfited expression crossed her face as she stood beside the bed for a few moments; he really was well informed about her measurements. A shudder ran through her body as she shook off any uncomfortable feelings she had, and she looked around for anything she needed to put on. Makeup was sitting out on the vanity against the opposite side of the room, and she walked over with a sigh and eased herself onto the stool. A peat moss green colored shadow awaited her, and she carefully picked it up and thought back to how to apply it. It had been so long since she actually wore makeup, so she was having issues with remembering how to put it on. She opened up the container and took out what looked like the brush she needed to apply the eye shadow with. Her eyes drifted to the mirror as she pressed the brush to the powder and rubbed it a few times before bringing it to her eyelid and brushing it across a few times. It didn't look too bad, so she continued until she decided that she had a suitable amount and began on the other eyelid.

Next up was putting on eyeliner, so she picked up the pencil looking tool and took off the lid. She huffed and stared intently at the eyeliner before glancing into the mirror and contemplated how to put it on. Her friend Kanaya told her that she merely needed to trace her eye with the pencil along her eyelash line, so that seemed pretty simple to do. She closed her eye and gently tugged at the skin to make sure it would go on smoothly, and she carefully traced a line across her eyelid but missed a few times and hit her eyelashes instead. She beamed at her success in getting a straight line across her lid that did not appear to be too thick and repeated the same process with her other eye. The last step she needed to do for her eyes was mascara, and she picked up the tube and took out the brush. She directed her gaze to the vanity and brought the brush to her lashes and stroked upwards. It was a little difficult trying not to blink as she applied it, but she successfully applied mascara to both eyes, completing her task of putting on eye makeup. Gamzee must have decided that she did not need any colored lipstick, for she only saw a tube of neutral colored lip gloss and applied it to her lips. Her face looked complete, and she tilted her head slightly pensive of her appearance. A knock sounded at the door, and she scooted out from the vanity and opened the door to see Gamzee. He appeared to have straightened his clothes out a bit more and quietly assessed Nepeta. He held a small box in his hands and guided Nepeta back over to the stool before setting the box down on the vanity and picking up the eyeliner pencil. Nepeta closed her eyes and wondered if she had messed up, but she sat still as Gamzee went to work on her eyes. The pressure of the pencil left her eyelids, and she opened her eyes to look in the mirror. Her eyeliner was a little thicker and the edges were tapered off to form a point and some eyeliner was drawn onto her lower lids, and the overall result gave her eyes a catlike appearance, which brought a smile to her face. Gamzee opened the box an pulled out a silver arabesque heart pendant with a tiny Peridot dangling from one of the curves and a pink diamond on either side of the heart, and he brought it around Nepeta's neck and fastened the clasp. He closed the box carefully and walked over to the bed and pulled out a box from underneath. He quickly discarded the round pink lid with a bow on top and lifted a pair of white heels from the box, and Nepeta paled at the sight of the heels. She was not very experienced in wearing heels and was an immediate danger to anyone standing near her with them on. Gamzee walked over and knelt down, and Nepeta quickly drew back her feet. The indigoblood persisted with her and slid her right foot into one shoe then proceeded to do the same with the other. He took her hand and helped her to her feet, and she wobbled unsteadily and nearly fell over. He was patient, however, and guided her steadily out of the room and to the dining hall.

Once they approached the stairs, Nepeta attempted to pull away from the highblood, but he assisted her with descending the staircase. She slipped halfway and flailed her arms, but Gamzee easily caught her and helped her regain balance. This whole escapade was quite embarrassing for Nepeta, and she wanted to disappear right then and there. A whimper escaped her lips whenever she stumbled and Gamzee accidently grabbed a bruised area from her fall a few days prior, and he apologized for hurting her. The two trolls finally made it to the bottom of the stairs without any more injuries-aside from a bruise slowly forming on Gamzee's cheekbone. Nepeta apologized for giving him a bruise, but he told her it was nothing and led the flustered oliveblood to the dining hall. He pulled out a chair for Nepeta, and she gracefully sat down without any more worries of falling down and hurting herself. He then sat in a seat beside her, and they both waited for dinner to be served.

"I'm so sorry fur being such a klutz. I'm not used to walking around in high heels," she apologized.

"No need to worry about it. It's happened before, so I understand," he replied casually.

"Lord Makara, may I ask why you requested fur my presence here tonight?"

" I heard you were being sent over here because of a disturbance, so I decided it was time for me to introduce myself to you."

"It's been a pleasure to finally meet you in purrson."

Salads were brought in by two servants and placed on the table for Nepeta and Gamzee to begin eating.

"Do you know what type of disturbance has occurred in this region of the kingdom?" Nepeta asked as she ate a forkful of salad.

"I'm sorry to say I don't know what kind of disturbance has occurred all up in this region of the kindgom."

"That's purrfectly- I mean that's perfectly fine," she caught herself using cat puns. She'd probably been using them this entire time without realizing it.

He chuckled," No need to get all embarrassed up in here. You can drop the formalities with me if you'd like to. I don't really mind."

Nepeta relaxed her shoulders and nodded," Thank you. By the way, you have a beautiful castle."

"Thank you, Miss Leijon, that's good to hear."

Soon, the main course was brought in on silver platters and revealed to the two trolls. Nepeta was served shrimp linguine with lobster, and Gamzee was served shrimp and scallop stroganoff. Nepeta's eyes widened at the sight of the food and realized how hungry she was. Gamzee smiled and told her to dig in, and she gently picked up her fork and neatly speared a shrimp with it. She blew on it before placing it inside her mouth, and her face lit up with excitement.

"I take it that the food is delicious?"

She nodded," This is the best shrimp I've ever had!"

"I'm glad you're enjoying it, Kittysis."

Once dinner was over, Gamzee took Nepeta for a walk around the castle.

"I do hope you are enjoying yourself here at my place. I don't want you feeling uncomfortable or anything."

"I am enjoying myself."

" I was informed that you were staying with Sir Karkat of the Crab Blade, and the seer Terezi Pyrope?"

"Oh yes, Sir Karkat is accompanying me on our mission here, and we managed to run into Terezi in the dragons' territory…" she trailed off quietly.

"Did something bad happen between the three of you?"

She crossed her arms and glanced to the side," I suppose you could call it bad, but it's really silly and doesn't really matter."

"Why don't you tell me? I'm all ears, Kittysis."

"Well, Karkat and I started off on our mission disliking each other a great bit but, even though he disliked me, he seemed to care for me quite a bit. As we continued on, I found myself gradually liking him even more, and I started to fall in love with him. Although, I didn't realize that I had flushed feelings for him until we met with Terezi, and he started showing her such affectionate feelings. Then they started ignoring me because they were so focused on each other, and I don't know why he even stays with her. I mean she's a very dear friend to me, but she's so argumentative and mean to him. I just- I suppose I'm just being jealous, and I really shouldn't be. It's not my place to choose who he wants as a matesprit…"

"You know I could help you out."

"What? What do you mean by that? I don't want Karkat to be forced into liking me."

"No, but I could help you make him jealous."

"I couldn't do that to him either."

Gamzee turned to face Nepeta suddenly and cupped her face with his long, thin fingers. She stared at him with wide, olive eyes and felt heat rushing to her face.

"I can help you with earning the affections of your dear knight, Miss Leijon," he stroked her cheek with his index," You're a wonderful huntress and a beautiful young lady, and it would be a shame for him not to fall for such an enchanting troll like you."

He picked up his formal speech once again, and Nepeta felt her head spinning. However, the dizziness did not seem to come from the subjuggulator's sudden onslaught of formal speech.

"I know you must be hurting, Kitten, and it's not right for him to hurt you like this," he murmured as he slid his hands down her neck, shoulders, sides, and down to her hips.

"Lord Makara, what are you-"

He cut her off by pressing his forehead to hers," I can be your replacement for now. Once he sees you with me and my affections towards you, he won't be able to resist being jealous and wanting to pull you away from me. I promise you that I can do that, and I _will_."

She was starting to get sleepy for reasons unknown to her, and she swayed to the side.

"You only need to cooperate with my demands dearest oliveblooded huntress. I'll make sure he'll fall for you, but you need to obey my orders first."

Her eyes were dropping closed, and she slowly slid to the floor; He carefully cradled her small form.

For a split second, a psychotic smile crossed his face," Dearest kitty assassin, you'll get the affections from your knight that you deserve in due time. Just keep doing your services underneath me, and I shall assist you with that. I may be a highblood, but that doesn't mean I cannot help a pretty little midblood like you. Don't be scared of me. I won't hurt you unless I have to."

With those final words, Nepeta finally drifted off into a heavy sleep, and Gamzee scooped her up into his arms.

"I might have forgotten to mention that I laced your dinner with sopor slime. You might have noticed the odd flavor while you were eating, but I suppose you never brought it up."

He carried her up to her guest room and put her to bed.

"Also, I may look slightly disheveled most of the time and speak very casually and informally, but that does not mean I cannot speak formally when I need to, Miss Leijon. Good night dear kitten. Sweet dreams."

He left the room and closed the door quietly so as not to disturb Nepeta as she slept, but he was certain that she would not wake until morning arrived.

oOoOoOo

"I thought she was supposed to come back last night," Karkat grumbled to Terezi.

"She did tell me that she wasn't sure when she would be back," Terezi replied curtly.

"Did she at least tell you who she was going to see?"

"No, she did not."

"Did it ever occur to you to _ask_ her where she was going?"

"No, not really. I figured it wasn't really my business, and _don't _get snippy with me! I don't know what your problem is!"

"She could have been kidnapped by someone!"

"You're overreacting, Karkat."

"I'm not overreacting! What if she ends up dead?"

"Karkat, she can handle herself."

"No she can't! She's fragile and tiny and helpless, and she could be in danger."

"Karkat, she hunts beasts twice her size, can shoot a bow and arrow, and is an assassin on the side. She is pretty short, but she is definitely _not_ fragile and helpless. What's gotten into you?"

"Well she did fall off a cliff and nearly got herself killed!"

"She is occasionally clumsy, but she's not some helpless little wriggler who needs protecting twenty-four seven. She'll be fine."

He sighed," I guess I was overreacting a bit. She isn't as helpless as I make her out to be."

"What exactly were you two arguing about the other morning?"

"I sort of flipped out on her telling me about spending too much time with you and ignoring her, and I kept calling her annoying, and childish, and ditzy."

Terezi slapped him hard, which left a red handprint on his other cheek," What is the matter with you?! You can't just say that to her! She's a lot more mature than you are anyways, so I don't know what you're complaining about!"

"WHAT IS IT WITH YOU TWO AND SLAPPING ME?!"

"IT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE AN IDIOT!"

"WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING?"

"WHAT I CAN'T SHOUT? KARKAT, IT'S NOT LIKE YOU OWN SHOUTING OR ANYTHING!"

"SHUT UP!"

"YOU FIRST!"

"NO!"

"WHY NOT?!"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT I EVER SAW IN YOU!" she lowered her voice," I honestly don't know what I thought was charming about you in any way! I mean you're physically attractive, but you're just _exhausting_ to be around. I don't know why I ever thought we would be able to be in a stable matespritship together."

"…I don't know what I thought either."

Terezi crossed her arms and faced away from his direction," Karkat, I don't think we were meant to be with each other. It's just not going to work out."

"I suppose you're right. I mean I still like you, but I guess I don't like you as much as I convinced myself that I did."

"It was nice while it lasted, but it would be best if we found other people."

He nodded," I still need to apologize to Nepeta for what I said to her the other day."

Terezi snickered," I still smell the handprint she gave you the other day.

"Shut up!"

"Now you have matching red handprints on both cheeks."

"I said shut up!"

"Maybe your new title should be Sir Karkat Vantas of the Rosy Crabcheeks."

"Terezi I swear if you don't shut up-"

"What? What are you going to do if I don't shut up?"

He groaned and threw a pillow," Just can it already, Pyrope."

"I honestly don't know where Nepeta is. I hope she's alright."

"We should go look for her, and ask if anyone else has seen her."

Karkat and Terezi left the inn to search for Nepeta around town. At first, they avoided having to ask any of the guards about the whereabouts of the huntress and began with asking the townsfolk. Some mentioned that they saw her, but they had no idea where she had gone. One lady mentioned that she saw Nepeta being spoken to by a guard, and Karkat thanked her. He and Terezi made their way over to an indigoblooded guard and asked if they had seen her. The guard pointed them towards the castle and explained that she had been called by Lord Makara for dinner. Karkat sighed and began to make his way over to the castle with Terezi. He felt uncomfortable about visiting a highblood with only a blind tealblood for company, but he knew he would just have to deal with it and hope he didn't get killed. Nepeta was inside the castle in the first place, and she could be in danger if he didn't check on her. He made his way over to the front doors of the castle and explained he had important business regarding Lord Makara, and they seemed to buy into his explanation and allowed him and Terezi through. He quietly stepped into the extravagant foyer and looked around carefully. Terezi casually wandered off without him, and he snapped his fingers to get her attention. She turned around and whispered that she was going to look for Nepeta on her own and that it would be better for them to split up to search for her. Karkat sighed and nodded and told her to meet him back in the foyer after twenty minutes.

Nepeta casually looked around her bedroom and still wondered how she ended up there last night. She vaguely remembered Gamzee saying something to her, but her mind was slowly enveloped in darkness and nothing else came to mind except for his psychotic smile. She picked up the silver tray with now empty dishes and placed it on the nightstand beside her. Her evening gown was still on to her embarrassment, so she slid out of bed to take it off and change back into her other clothes. The dress hit the floor, and Nepeta's ears perked up as she heard a knock on her door. She quietly opened the door while keeping her body hidden, and a maid stood before her. She smiled pleasantly and gave Nepeta her clothes from the day before-now clean and ready to wear once again-then exited the room without a single word. Nepeta closed the door and began to change into her normal clothes. She would have to find Gamzee and tell him that she would be leaving before going back to Karkat and Terezi. There was no point in leaving unannounced and having him hunt her down later. Another knock sounded at her door as she finished getting dressed, and she went over to answer it to reveal Gamzee standing before her.

"Good morning, Kittysis, did you sleep okay last night?" he greeted her casually.

"I did sleep well, Lord Makara, thank you fur asking."

"Call me Gamzee. It's not so stiff and more relaxed and such."

"If you insist, then I will."

"Now, Kittysis, are you ready to begin the day? I do believe I heard your knight and seer friends coming to search for you downstairs. I know just how to step carefully on his toes in just the right way to make him angry. I'll make myself as appealing as possible to you, so he can't be swayed that you 'like' me in that way."

"Oh, well I was planning on leaving the castle today to resume my mission."

"You have plenty of time for investigating and stuff later. Don't you worry your kitty head, Miss Leijon. You'll have time for that later."

She looked at him with uncertainty," Okay if you say so."

He took her by the arm and led her downstairs, and she followed him still unsure of what to do. She didn't have much say in the matter since he was her boss and could have her killed if he wanted to, so it was best for her to just listen to his orders and hope not to die. He made it down the stairs a little bit faster this time since Nepeta was wearing her boots this time instead of heels, and Karkat managed to enter at the same time. Terezi appeared from a different direction and stopped in her tracks. At the sudden appearance of her two companions, Nepeta immediately wanted to shy away and sprint out of the castle, but she would just have to deal with it. Gamzee, on the other hand, was casually composed with a relaxed demeanor and had a firm yet gentle grip on Nepeta's arm.

"Hello, Lord Makara, it's good to see you again," Karkat spoke up.

"Greetings, Sir Karkat Vantas of the Crab Blade, it's a pleasure to see your presence here at my castle. How is the empress?"

"She is doing well."

"That's good to hear. Oh, and it is quite a pleasure to see you Miss Pyrope."

"It's nice to, ahem, see you as well, Lord Makara," Terezi strained slightly.

"We were wondering why Nepeta had not returned last night," Karkat explained.

"No worries, she was in my care."

"If you do not mind, we are on a mission, so it is imperative that we complete our mission as quickly as possible in order to report back to the empress."

"I am afraid that I have important matters to discuss with Miss Leijon," he casually stroked Nepeta's back as he spoke," I am her boss after all, so she would do well to obey my orders. Isn't that correct, Nepeta?"

She nodded," I'm very sorry, but I do have to listen to him."

"She _is_ my most highly esteemed assassin, so I need her here to discuss more important things. You can tell Her Empirical Effervescence that Nepeta will be with me until we are finished discussing her newest target."

"I am to return with Nepeta or not at all."

"I didn't know Her Empirical Effervescence was this strict with her orders."

"She's not strict with her orders, but I certainly cannot leave Nepeta in your hands."

Gamzee's hands traveled to Nepeta's shoulders and gave a light squeeze," Why is that, Sir Karkat?"

He swallowed and really did not know why he blurted that out," I refuse to return home without Nepeta."

"That's fine by me. Would you like to take up residency here instead of the inn?"

"If that is alright with you, then I shall gladly take up your offer."

"I shall see to the preparations of your rooms then," He turned with Nepeta and began to ascend the stairs," Remember that you two will be staying in my castle, so don't do anything stupid."

He then walked upstairs and out of sight while Karkat and Terezi went to check out of the inn and bring their belongings to the castle. Nepeta was quiet as she was led to Gamzee's study and sat down in a chair while he sat at his desk in front of her.

"Do you actually have an assignment for me?"

"I don't at the moment, but I told you I was going to be making your flush crush jealous. You want him to be interested in you don't you? All of it was an act, Kittysis, so don't you worry about me doing anything too weird with you. You don't mind me getting a little friendly with you right?"

"I m-mind a little bit."

"I'm sorry about that. I can stop if you want me to."

She sat in silence as she contemplated for a few moments," You may…continue, but please don't overstep your boundaries."

"Not a problem, Kittysis, just say the word and my hands are off."

"Why are you helping me?"

He shrugged," I figured that I should do something to help my top assassin. I mean you have helped me exterminate a number of trolls that needed to be disposed of, so I thought this could be a little reward for you or something."

"I see, well, thank you for assisting me."

"You may go ahead and do your own thing or whatever now. I have private business that I have to take care of in here."

Nepeta stood up and pushed the chair in and left the study closing the door behind her. She proceeded down the hallway and walked around the corner to bump into Karkat as he was carrying his belongings to his guest room. She offered to help him out, but he protested and claimed that he didn't need any help from her. She teased him a little, but he finally caved and allowed her to help him out. H e couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going on between Nepeta and her boss, and the thought made him angry for some reason. He was wrong in calling her childish and annoying because she just wanted to relax a little during their mission, and she really wasn't all that annoying in the first place. He needed to apologize for being such a jerk to her and hurting her feelings. Nepeta set down his belongings on his bed, and he put the remainder on the bed and nightstand. She began to leave the room, but he grabbed her hand and froze in place. She looked at him with a mildly confused expression on her face, and he held her hand firmly without any sign of letting her go. They stood in place staring at each other until Karkat finally decided to move and walk out of the room with her still holding her hand firmly. Nepeta followed him with curiosity forming in her mind and wondered what he was going to do. He led her outside to the castle gardens and released his grip on her hand, and she walked beside him in silence. Neither troll said a word as they walked through the gardens and admired the colorful flowers and how well kept they looked. A fountain bubbled quietly in the center, and Karkat went to sit on the bench in front of it with Nepeta joining him.

"I'm sorry, Nepeta," he finally spoke.

"What are you sorry fur?"

"I'm sorry for yelling at you the other day and calling you childish and annoying. You're really not all that annoying or childish…I was just being a huge jerk to you when all you were trying to do was adding a little fun to the mission."

"I furgive you, Karkitty! I'm not angry with you!"

"Do you really mean it?"

"Of course I do!"

"You're so silly sometimes!"

"You're so cheerful aren't you?"

"I suppose I am! I like being cheerful!"

"Don't you ever get sad?"

"…Yes, I do get sad."

He slapped a hand to his face," I'm sorry that was stupid."

"It's okay you didn't mean anything by it!"

"Why are with your boss anyways?"

"I don't really know. He called me here fur some impurrtant business or something, so I decided to listen to him. I mean he is my boss after all and…"

"…you're afraid he'll kill you if you don't comply with his orders?"

"H-he is a highblood after all, so I don't want to do anything that will make him angry."

"Nepeta, that's not healthy and you know that."

"I-I do know that, but I just can't quit. He'll kill me if I do, and I really don't want that to happen."

He pulled her into a tight hug," I'll protect you if he does try to kill you, Nepeta. I don't want to lose you."

"Thank you, Karkat, but I have to do this on my own."

"I cannot allow that, so I'll do my best to keep you safe while you're still here. Don't you worry about a thing. You're going to be fine, I am going to make sure of that."

She breathed a sigh of relief," Thank you…"

From an upstairs window, indigo eyes watched the two trolls in the garden, and a single honk sounded from the same room where the window was.

* * *

I'm sorry this is my first time writing Gamzee, and I don't normally swear, which made it a lot more difficult. I hope I at least got him in character.


	6. Now You're Mine

Chapter 6: Now You're Mine

The next few days were quite strange for Nepeta as Gamzee romanced her and flirted with her in front of Karkat. Karkat grew more cross each time he had to watch and had to leave the vicinity a few times in order to let out his anger. He was confused as to why Gamzee had so much interest in Nepeta and wondered if he was becoming jealous of the affection he was showing her. It wasn't like he had any feelings for Nepeta, so he shouldn't feel so agitated towards Gamzee's affections towards Nepeta. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her, and she seemed to respond sweetly to the indigoblood's affections. He wondered if Nepeta had a secret matespritship with Gamzee and that was the reason why she wanted to stay with him. His face paled as he came to the realization that Nepeta was in an abusive relationship, and he needed to get some common sense into her before it was too late. Nepeta could end up dead anyways if she stayed with him, so he needed to be her knight and rescue her from trouble. He came upon Nepeta having her hair stroked by Gamzee and waited until he was through. Gamzee then stated that he had some private matters to attend to and departed from the room. Karkat took the chance to sit beside Nepeta on the couch she was sitting on.

"Nepeta, we need to talk."

"Hmm? Whatever furr, Karkat?

"We need to discuss your relationship with Gamzee."

"Oh? What about it, Karkat?"

"You need to get out of it."

"What? No, I don't, Karkat, I'm purrfectly fine."

"You are not 'purrfectly' fine, Nepeta, and you know that. You're in an abusive relationship, and you need to get out of it before something bad happens!"

"Karkat, I appreciate your concern, but I'm not in an abusive relationship with Gamzee."

"Nepeta, please think a little! You're afraid to leave him because you think he might kill you if you do leave him, and that is _not_ a healthy relationship!"

"I only said I was afraid of him killing me if I quit my job as his top assassin."

"That's still pretty much the same the thing! I cannot allow you to stay with him any longer, or you might really get killed, Nepeta!"

"Karkat, I don't understand why you're so concerned with my well-being anyways. I'll be just fine on my own, and I don't need your help. You can't honestly be that worried about me."

"Yes, I can and I will be concerned and worried about your well-being while you're with that clown, Nepeta."

"I doubt it."

"Please believe me!"

"Why should I?"

"Because."

"Karkat, because isn't an answer."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not, Karkat."

"Of course it is."

"Karkat, I'm being serious here. Why are you so concerned about my relationship with Gamzee?

"Because I have to be concerned."

"Why, Karkat?"

"B-because!"

"Because why, Karkat?"

" BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!"

Her eyes widened in surprise, for she was only half expecting him to say something like that.

She averted her eyes from his crimson gaze," Is that really true, Karkat?"

He said nothing.

"Well?"

A honk sounded from the opposite end of the room causing both trolls to jump and look in the direction where the honk came from, but no subjuggulator clown appeared. Karkat and Nepeta slowly stood up and walked towards the direction where the honk came from and heard a second honk from the same direction. Karkat walked in front of Nepeta and took out his sickle to brace himself for any attack from Gamzee, but he was nervous as he turned the corner. Nothing was in the hallway, and the lights suddenly went out. Nepeta gently held onto his arm out of fear because she didn't know what Gamzee was doing. Surely, this was a part of the plan for getting her with Karkat right? She convinced herself that this was all part of the plan and there was nothing to be truly afraid of. Karkat began to walk down the hallway with Nepeta at his arm and his sickle at the ready. Occasionally a honk would sound out of nowhere, and the two trolls looked around in bewilderment for the indigoblood but to no avail. Nepeta realized her heart was beating rapidly, and she really wanted to know where Gamzee was and what he was up to. Karkat slid his hand into Nepeta's interlacing his fingers with hers and gave it a firm squeeze as they rounded another corner with still no evidence of the missing subjuggulator. His absence was unnerving, and the occasional honks sounding through the castle wasn't comforting either. Nepeta was suddenly wrenched away from Karkat and her mouth was covered to prevent any screams, and Karkat looked around in bewilderment for his companion.

"Nepeta? Nepeta where are you?!"

She couldn't answer, however, as she was dragged away in silence and struggled to attack her assailant. Karkat continued looking around the castle for her and hoped that she wasn't in any immediate danger. He desperately hoped that she was just playing around and that she would tacklepounce him at any second, but she never showed up to pin him to the ground. Nepeta continued to struggle as she was pulled into a room and sat down in a chair, but she could not see anything in front of her. The door to whatever room she was in closed, and she waited patiently for her assailant to come back.

"Calm yourself, Kittysis, it's only me," a voice broke out of the inky darkness.

"Gamzee, what is going on, and why did you just nab me from the hallway?"

"The show isn't over, Kittysis, and you promised to obey my orders."

"I didn't purromise- I didn't promise you anything."

He pressed his forehead to hers," You will obey my orders because I said the show ain't over. You got that?"

"Y-Yes sir."

"Now I'm going to drag you out and maybe kiss you a little bit in order to rile him up a little. Is that okay with you?"

"I-I'm not so sure about that."

"I'm not convinced that he's ready to have you. I ain't handing you over to him just yet."

"I suppose I'll comply with your orders."

"Alright, well let's go now," he began to drag her out of the room.

She really was not okay with this, but she decided to go along with the clown's orders for fear of her own life. Honestly, she did not understand what was going on inside his deluded mind, but she would just follow his orders like he asked. Gamzee dragged Nepeta out of the room and brought her to the ballroom while keeping a tight grip on her arm. He clapped his hands which seemed to signal for the ballroom lights to be turned on and the doors to slowly opened. The footsteps and angry mutterings of a certain candy redblooded troll were heard as they entered the ballroom and promptly stopped as he stared at the two trolls before him.

"I should've known you were the one who took her."

"Why are you surprised? Isn't she all mine for the taking?"

"She's not an object you idiotic stoned clown."

"Whoa let's calm down with the name calling, Bro."

"Drop the act and release Nepeta."

"Why should I let you have my top assassin for a matesprit? What if I want her all to myself?"

"She's not something to share or to keep as an object! She's a person of her own volition, and you can't keep her for youself!"

"Surely you're not jealous ,Sir Vantas, for I seem to recall that you're in a relationship with the seer?"

"She and I are not in a relationship, and I am not jealous!"

"I know what we can do. We can play a game with one another, and Nepeta will decide what she wants to do with the winner."

"How about we not?"

"How about a duel? That sounds like a lot of fun, and you're a knight who must enjoy that sort of thing. Let's duel against one another for Nepeta's heart."

"Are you not listening to a single word I'm saying?"

"Run along now, Nepeta, this fight's between us, and it would not be fair if you were to fight alongside either one of us."

Nepeta sighed and walked over to the side to watch quietly. She hoped nothing stupid would happen to where she'd need to step in and keep either one from killing each other. Gamzee pulled out a pair of clubs and took on a fighting stance before running towards Karkat who was ready to fight back with his sickle. Gamzee swung a club which came into Karkat's sickle as he blocked and swung the other to knock Karkat upside the head and caused Nepeta to flinch at the sight. Karkat shook off the hit as he recovered and charged to attack Gamzee with his sickle, but Gamzee ended up hitting Karkat in the stomach and sent him flying across the room. Nepeta tensed up and began edging towards the ballroom doors in case she needed to sprint out and grab her bow and quiver. Gamzee had better not hurt him severely, or she was going to take out the clown herself regardless of his ridiculous orders. He sneered at Karkat who only seemed more enraged and charged at Gamzee once more. Nepeta nearly ran forward as she saw the club collide with Karkat's chest and send him into a wall, but she sprinted out of the ballroom and located her guest room. She thrust open the door and immediately went for her bow and quiver stocked with arrows before rushing back to the ballroom as quickly as possible. Karkat had finally gotten some strikes in as evidenced by a few deep gashes in Gamzee's skin, but those were mere scratches to the indigo highblood as he moved in to attack Karkat once more. Nepeta watched for a little longer in hopes that Karkat would be able to finish this fight on his own, but he was trapped on the defensive side until he got a swipe at the highblood's calf. He continued to strike back and was able to get Gamzee on the defensive side while Nepeta watched in anticipation. She supposed that she'd gotten worried over nothing, but that proved to be incorrect as she saw Gamzee's club connect with Karkat's ribcage and saw him go down to the ground. She drew her bow and aimed carefully before releasing the arrow and watched it fly into Gamzee's arm which prompted him to turn around. She was furious with him and confidently walked over and stood in front of Karkat with a glare on her face.

"That's enough, Gamzee, you've gone too far. He's had enough, and I'm not letting you attack him anymore. If you wish to continue your battle with him, then you'll have to get through me in order to do so."

He nodded and dropped his clubs to the ground to show his surrender.

Nepeta turned to address Karkat," I'm so sorry, Karkat! I didn't intend for this to get that far, and I should have stopped it sooner. Gamzee wanted to help me make you fall in love with me, and I accepted out of fear. I should have come to you and confessed my feelings upfront, but I didn't."

"I was only trying to do my top assassin a favor, so please don't be completely angry with her. I sort of forced it onto her anyways," Gamzee apologized.

Karkat appeared to be furious with Nepeta, but he seemed to cool down and relax. Gamzee outstretched his hand to help him up, and Karkat gratefully accepted and stood up slowly.

"I'm angry that you do that to me, but I'll let it slide because I do love you, Nepeta. I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you before and hurting your feelings and not being considerate of your presence when I was making out with Terezi in front of you. It was stupid and completely rude, and I hope you can forgive me for being such an idiot."

She smiled," I furgive you, Karkitty!"

"I'm sorry too , Nepeta," Terezi spoke as she walked into the room," I was inconsiderate of your feelings as well."

"It's alright, Terezi, I'm not angry with you either."

Nepeta turned to face Gamzee once again," If it's alright with you, I would like to quit my job as an assassin under you."

"Are you sure about that, Kittysis? You're the best one I've had."

She nodded," I've become uncomfortable with the job, and I'd rather resort to killing out of self-defense or not at all. I prefer to stick to hunting animals instead."

"If that's what you want, then that's fine. You can come back anytime you like."

"Thank you, fur letting me go."

"Well I suppose we should leave now. We still don't know what the disturbance in this area of the kingdom is."

"There was no disturbance."

Karkat raised an eyebrow," How do you know that?"

"I was the one who informed Empress Feferi about the 'disturbance' in this area of the kingdom."

Nepeta stared at him in disbelief," What was the point of us being sent here then?"

"I wanted to see you in person and have you meet your boss."

"Then why didn't you just send for her instead of coming up with some fake disturbance and having us go on a mission which ended up being a wild goose chase?!" Karkat slowly raised his voice.

"I sort of forgot what I was doing and decided to tell Her Empirical Effervescence that there was trouble in this area of the kingdom and to send Nepeta with a companion over. It all worked out in the end though."

Karkat groaned and cursed under his breath while Nepeta sighed heavily and Terezi stood in blind disbelief. All three had gone to the trouble of traveling here for nothing, and Terezi was not even needed on the mission in the first place. Gamzee allowed for everyone to stay and rest for as long as they needed before heading back to where each lived.

oOoOoOo

It was night time, around ten o' clock, and Nepeta was undressing for bed in her guest room. A gentle knock came at her door, and she walked over to answer it while hiding behind the door. Karkat stood before her and waved in greeting, and she allowed him inside with a smile. She decided to have Karkat stay in her room for the night, and he did not mind being with her for the night. He decided to come to her room in order to "ward off intruders" and "fight monsters under the bed" and keep Nepeta safe. His eyes wandered to Nepeta as she stood in front of the full-length mirror and reached to undo the clasp at her back. She seemed to be having difficulties with it, however, as it looked like she accidentally fastened it on the last one; she complained earlier that her bra was too tight. He decided that there should be no problem in assisting the young lady with her undergarments. A blush rose to his face as he gently undid the clasp, and he could see a blush forming on Nepeta's face as well. She murmured a thank you as she put away the undergarment, but she stood still in the middle of the room for a few moments afterwards. Karkat figured that he might as well start getting ready for bed as well and began to take off his cloak and tunic. Nepeta glanced back at Karkat as she stood facing the wall completely topless and barefoot. Her gaze slowly scanned Karkat's bare upper torso in the moonlight, and she went over to close the curtains; no point in having the sun blinding them in the morning. Karkat folded up his clothes neatly and placed them on a chair in the room. He looked over to Nepeta as she stood in her underwear and wondered what she was doing. The last time he'd seen her like this was when he stole peeks at her while she bathed in the river, and he felt slightly guilty at the memory. She looked at him now, and he tilted his head to the side in curiosity. A grin bloomed onto her face as she sprinted and leaped onto the bed, which caused the pillows to leap a few inches into the air and plop back onto the bed. He wondered what she was doing and walked over to the bed, and she lay across the sheets face flat.

"Nepeta, what are you doing?"

"I'm just lying across the bed."

"I can see that."

She rolled onto her side and curled into a ball, and he leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. He wondered why she was being so silly, and she promptly latched her arms around his neck and pressed against his torso. Heat rushed to his face as he understood what she was doing, but he wasn't sure how to react. Her lips pressed against his, and he lay down with her resting on him. He nuzzled her nose and rubbed her back gently which caused her to shiver slightly, and she stared into his crimson eyes quietly. Karkat brought his fingers gently into her short, messy hair and stroked it as he stared up at her. She suddenly pulled away and rolled backwards into a sitting position before grabbing a pillow and hiding behind it, and he crawled over to her and placed a kiss on her nose. She gently head butted him, and he smiled affectionately to her surprise. He slid under the covers and turned away from her, feigning sleep; she hit him over the head with the pillow and hugged him from behind. He rolled over and slid his arms around her waist as he hugged her close to him. He noticed that she was being shy about this, but he couldn't blame her. He brought his nose down to her collarbone and nuzzled it, and she shivered again as he began trailing kisses across her collarbone. A soft purr rolled out of her throat, and he pressed his nose against her throat. She buried her face into his soft, messy hair and breathed in his scent softly.

"I'm sorry for being a jerk, Nepeta," he murmured.

"Shhh…you've apologized enough. You don't need to go on anymore," she gently shushed him.

"Your hair smells really nice."

"Your hair does too."

"What if they ask why we were in the same room?"

"We can tell them I was having nightmares."

"That sounds like a good excuse."

oOoOoOo

Sunlight fell onto the floor underneath the closed curtains, so the room was barely illuminated by any unwanted brightness. Nepeta had her head resting in the crook of Karkat's neck as she slept with her short hair sprawling all over the pillow in every direction and her legs tangled with the blankets. Her olive eyes opened slowly beneath her thick, dark lashes and blinked a few times in order to wake up. A purr rumbled softly out of her throat as she recalled the events of the previous night, and she nuzzled her matesprit's collarbone. Ah yes, Karkat Vantas was now her matesprit, and he was currently snoring softly as he slept. One arm was wrapped around Nepeta's abdomen- similar to the first time he had slept close to her in the forest except he was facing her this time- and the other arm was wrapped around her back. The snoring stopped as Karkat began to wake up, and he slowly removed his arms from around her in order to stretch and let out a yawn. Nepeta shifted onto her back and pulled the covers over her bare chest as she untangled her legs from Karkat's. He murmured a soft 'good morning' to her as he stretched and woke up, and she smiled and replied with a kiss to the cheek. Nepeta slid out of bed and walked over to the full length mirror to survey her body and found bruises on her ribcage, shoulders, and neck.

"You left bruises," she complained mildly.

He sat up indignantly, "You left claw marks on my back! I'm pretty sure you also drew blood! You think you're in pain? I've got huge bruises from where Gamzee battered me up yesterday!"

She walked back over to him and hugged his neck gently," I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'm in pain, but I'm fine."

"Good," she kissed the top of his head," I'm taking a shower first."

"Knock yourself out because I'm still trying to wake up."

She giggled and grabbed her clothes," Lazy."

He scoffed at her, and she kissed his forehead before heading into the bathroom. He couldn't stay mad at his new matesprit, however, and was eager to spend more time with her. They decided to stay at Gamzee's castle for another week before heading back home with Terezi. Karkat had no problem with that because there was no reason to rush home, and hopefully no more major injuries would be sustained on the journey back. He leaned back against the pillows once more and closed his eyes. Perhaps they would find that meadow once again, and they could all stop and make flower crowns together.

* * *

This ended up being a little shorter than I expected, but this is the final chapter! Thanks to all who've read and reviewed this!


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